Life is not easy for an alley cat... especially in the wintertime when it is cold, and stray cats have to dig for food in the garbage. “Fangs” was this kind of cat. Having to live this way had made him wary and mean. Besides that, he was skinny and had a problem which made it hard for him to breathe in cold weather... and this day was really cold. Poor Fangs! He just did not know what the “good life” really was. He was used to alley life and not the warmth of a nice building or house.
This is just like some people of whom the Bible says that although they say they are rich and have need of nothing, they are really “wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:1717Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Revelation 3:17). If you do not know the Lord Jesus, you are much worse off than Fangs. You may think that your life is “good,” but without the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour you are still, just like Fangs, in the alley.
One day, while searching for a warm place to get out of the storm, Fangs found a garage door open and secretly crept through. How nice and warm it was inside, and even better, somewhere inside he could smell food! Fangs’ new home was a print shop, and nearby in the same building was a lunchroom. There was just one problem, however, and that was—there were people around, and Fangs did not care one bit for people!
Trying hard to stay hidden, Fangs was still looking for food in nearby garbage cans while using the print shop as a shelter from the cold. But one day he was seen running across the print shop floor! The people that worked in the print shop left food and water in his very own dish and even made a nice home for him out of a cardboard box. Well, that should surely have made a nice, friendly kitty out of Fangs... but no, he was just as scared of people as ever, and whenever anyone came near him he would hiss and bare his teeth. (That is how Fangs got his name.)
One day, however, Fangs was offered food from one of the men’s hands. Fangs hissed and backed off, but the man talked gently to him while still offering the food. Fangs caught a whiff of that delicious food and he could not resist the smell! He timidly crept forward and snatched the food out of the man’s hand with his claws. While he was eating his food, the man gently petted him. That didn’t feel so bad... and so with more food and love, soon mean, old Fangs was purring and enjoying all the attention.
The Bible tells us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalms 34:88O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8). The Lord wants to bless us and feed us with that living Bread from heaven. If we simply repent and put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will wash our sins away with His own precious blood. Then we can enjoy the happy privilege of being God’s own children.
Well, old Fangs never hissed again, and soon the building became his very own home. He no longer had to wander outside in the cold. How about you? Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good, or are you still out in the cold, away from God’s love? He wants you to have His forgiveness and love, and then give you a home with Him in heaven.
ML-09/12/1982