Dear Children,
Many of you boys and girls know that Gramma and I live in the country where there are still lots of wild animals and different kinds of birds. Yes, we feed the foxes, coyotes and also other creatures. On top of the wood pile in our small barn, we keep two dishes full of food, mostly for stray cats that come around in the colder weather. And sometimes the raccoons and possums find those dishes of food and help themselves too. That’s okay.
For the past three years, a stray cat has been visiting us pretty much year-round to eat the food that we put out for them. This cat is black and white and looks very much like Mittens, our cat. But this stray will not let me make friends with him! As soon as I open our back door, he’s out of the barn and running!
When I got to thinking about this, I thought about the Lord Jesus Christ who is a friend to all people. How do we know this? Because the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). That includes you and me too! Yes, God loves all the people of the world—red, yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight! And I really don’t care what color the animals are, I’m going to feed them anyway!
Our son Allan always stops in to see us on his way home from work. One night when he opened the door, his first words were, “Where is Mittens?” Gramma answered that he was down in the basement. Allan asked again, “Are you sure?” Gramma answered, “Yes, I just gave him some food to eat ... but why are you asking about Mittens?” Allan explained: “There’s a cat up beside the highway that’s been hit by a car, and it looks like it’s dead! It looks like Mittens.”
Now that made me sad. I quickly got on my riding lawn mower and drove up to the highway. Sure enough, there was my little black and white stray friend lying dead beside the road! I felt so helpless because I couldn’t help the poor little creature.
I drove back to the house and told Gramma that it was our little stray friend. How sad. We had been feeding this stray cat for a long time, but we could never get to be close friends with it, and I never knew why. We fed it good food and also gave it milk to drink. Gramma and I did all we could to keep it here, but it refused, and now it was gone.
Children, I think about boys and girls who have come to Sunday school for years. They learn all the Bible verses and memorize lots of them. Then we never see them again. Did they ever ask the Lord Jesus to wash away their sins and trust Him as their very own Saviour? Yes, we have heard of a few who have been saved from their sins. But I also think that some are like a man named Felix in the Bible who said, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:2525And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. (Acts 24:25)). He put off being saved from his sins, and we don’t know if he was ever saved.
As I picked up the poor dead cat to bury it, I thought, I’m glad that we did what we could for it. But what about you? Is your name written down in heaven? We sure hope it is. If it’s not, here’s what will happen when your life is over: “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)). How tragic! And sadly, it didn’t have to end that way!
Please take your Bible and read John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)! Every boy and girl that came to our Sunday school memorized that verse. Are you one of them? Yes, heaven is for “whosoever.” Make sure you are included!
With lots of love,
Grampa and Gramma
ML-03/27/2016