One day after school was out in the spring, Dorothy went to visit her aunt and uncle who lived on a farm. They had just gotten a lot of baby pigs. One that Dorothy decided was her favorite was white with some black markings on it. But when it was time to go home she had a box with two little pigs in it one was her favorite white and black pig and the other was rust colored.
Her father set up for her a low, electric fence to keep the pigs near their nice new house. Dorothy washed and brushed them often. She put a little stool in their play yard and sat and talked to her pets. They soon got to know her voice and would come when Dorothy called them. She found that they liked toys, because when she gave them some rags and a couple of balls, they tossed and shoved them around. One of the balls was a pigskin football, and she would tell her pigs, “That is what happens to little pigs who do not behave.”
Grandma and Grandpa lived just down the road from Dorothy’s house. One day some friends came to visit her grandma and grandpa. They soon heard all about Dorothy’s pigs and wanted to go over to see them.
When Grandma called Dorothy on the phone to tell her they were coming to see her pigs, she quickly washed and brushed her pigs and tied ribbons around their necks. They looked so clean and all dressed up.
By the time Grandma and Grandpa and their guests had finished dinner and walked over to see Dorothy’s pets, the pigs didn’t look quite the same. They had rolled in the mud where Dorothy had dumped their wash water and had gotten themselves and their pretty ribbons all dirty. The pigs didn’t know they had done anything wrong. They just snorted and sniffed and ran back and forth squealing when they saw Dorothy coming toward them. They were so glad to see her. But Dorothy was so disappointed when she saw them. She got out her pig brush and started brushing the mud off them again.
Will they always stay as cute baby pigs? No, they will continue to eat and eat and grow and grow... until they weigh about 100 pounds. Then they will have to go back to Dorothy’s uncle who will keep them until they weigh about 220 pounds. Then he will take them to market and sell them there with his other grown-up pigs.
Dorothy knows all about this. Last year she raised twelve baby geese. They followed her everywhere and used to sit looking in the window, waiting for Dorothy to come outside. The pet geese finally had to go to market too.
You can see that this little girl is a very loving person and has a wonderful way with animals.
However, she knows that animals do not have a soul. She goes to Sunday school and has learned that the Bible says that God gave a soul that lives forever only to people. “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:77And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7).
Dorothy will be sorry to see her pet pigs go back to her uncle’s farm, and she was sad to see her geese leave last year too. But she knows she will probably have something else next year to love and care for. Perhaps she will have some rabbits, or maybe a baby calf, or even some baby goats. These creatures are of the earth and cannot go to heaven. People have souls that live on and on — forever — either in heaven or in hell. When we wash our pets here on earth they will get dirty again; it is their nature to do so. But when we are washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, we are washed clean of our sins forever! We are then fit to live with the Lord Jesus in heaven for eternity.
ML-02/14/1988