By Eric Reece
Is my cat a sinner? Sometimes I think so.
Especially after she gets playful and I have to clean the blood off my arm and apply a Band Aid.
Once a young lady asked me if her pet would go to heaven when it died? I had to think real hard. I didn’t want to disappoint her, but I didn’t want to mislead her.
A preacher can only say “I don’t know” so many times, before people start to wonder. Preachers gotta know: do pets go to heaven?
In Sunday School, I was told there was a big difference between animals and humans. Humans have souls and go to heaven, and those poor, soulless animals are just out of luck. In the Bible, however, there is an animal with a soul inside (Jonah 1:17).
But wait, didn’t God create both animals and humans? As Qohelet said, “Who knows if a human being’s life-breath rises upward, while an animal’s life-breath descends into the earth?” (Ecclesiastes 3:21, CEB).
Do our pets go to
heaven? There is a beautiful vision in the Bible spoken by the prophet Isaiah we call the Peaceable Kingdom. “The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; the calf and the young lion will feed together, and a little child will lead them” (Isaiah 11:6, CEB). Is this a vision of heaven?
Some years ago, I heard a challenging sermon. The speaker said, “All of creation is fallen and in need of a Savior!” He was right.
With the fall of humanity (Genesis 3) came the fall of creation. The fall brought about sin and death. All creation has fallen. That includes my cat and all beloved pets. But the good news is what is fallen can be redeemed.
“For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly, but because of him who subjected it – in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now” (Romans 8:20-22, CEB).
One day, all creation will be redeemed, The one who made heaven and Earth will make all things new. That includes me, this old world and my cat.
Yes, my cat is a sinner, but I am sure she has several good excuses. Could it be she is upset because in ancient Egypt, cats were seen as sacred and the Church changed all that?
Maybe I should baptize my cat, but I’m not sure if I have enough Band Aids. Maybe I could be like Moses and sprinkle her with water using a hyssop branch, but I’m not sure if I could stand far enough away.
Even so, I am glad my cat will make it to heaven one day. Who knows, they may even get along with the dogs there.
Just don’t ask me that question.
Eric Reece is a new faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church.