The little fellow in our picture is fond of his kitten, don’t you think? Phyllis is very fond of her cats, too. They are beautiful Persian prizewinners, and their names are Black Beauty and Pugnacious.
If you had seen those two cats cuddled up together on Phyllis’ couch, you would have thought, as we did, that they were as friendly, happy, good-natured, and affectionate toward each other and all the world as any cats you could wish for. But just rub them the wrong way and find out!
Looks are deceiving. When Black Beauty became the proud mother of four little kittens, Puggy rose up in the most ridiculous outburst of jealousy you ever saw. She just bristled with anger all over. She spit at the very sight of her old friend. She would starve rather than share the same feeding dish. Her friendship was all burned up in jealous rage. Cats are just cats, after all.
But with us, my reader, it is different. Sometimes, in spite of good appearances, a miserable feeling of anger and jealousy rises inside of us. Have you ever felt like that? That evil heart was there all the time, but we didn’t realize it until someone else stirred it up. But now, there it is in all its ugliness, and what are we to do?
Pugnacious just felt angry and she showed it all over. Pugnacious is just a cat and is not responsible to God. But you and I have a record, which we must face some day before God, God cares for the needs of cats, of course, but for us He sent His Son, because we have sinned against Him. These outbursts of anger on our part are not funny, they are very sinful indeed, and God remembers them, Not until you have asked Him to wash and cleanse you in the precious blood of His beloved Son, can God say, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Heb. 10:1717And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17).
Still, even after we are saved, the angry feeling rises again, and what are we to do? Come at once to Jesus and ask Him to help us in every time of need. Is it not wonderful that He wants us to come “boldly” too, without any fear, just whenever we need Him? When cats feel angry, they just get angry, but we who are saved can do as the hymn says:
“Ask the Saviour, to help you,
Comfort, strengthen and keep you,
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.”
ML 11/05/1950