Opus 2024-041: The Place of Pets

(Psa 8:4 KJV)  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

I was distracted by the silly cat that I had to deal with and casually wondered if God considered us pets.  That doesn’t work.  I know that they say pets start to look like their owners but I don’t think that is the same concept that Genesis has when it says we were created in the image of God.  That is an awesome thought.

Pets can only go so far and can only be taught so much.  It isn’t their fault.  They are individuals and have personalities but it is like saying that rocks are different.

We are children of God if we have been redeemed.  That includes adoption.  It doesn’t happen when we leave the womb.  It happens when we trust Jesus.  Children don’t just change, they grow and mature.  They are unending in their growth they can go on and on.  Children are created in the image of the parent.  Animals can never live up to that.

If my cat had a physical problem that would cost so much I would have to mortgage the house, I would get a new cat.  Sorry if you feel otherwise.  If it was my child I would be on my way to the bank.

So accept that God put humans in a special category.  He sent His son to die for us.  That never happened for the dinosaurs.  He let them go extinct.  

Maybe He replaced them with cats.  The rabbit trails that could lead to are for another day.  Hopefully it will never come.

homo unius libri

Opus 2023-225: Question Tangents

Anyone who attends church or synagogue is familiar with the verse,

(Psa 8:4 KJV)  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

My mind always goes on tangents.  I find myself looking at it from the other side.  What is God that we are mindful of Him?  Or perhaps you could phrase it, “What is man that we are mindful of God?”

This is a real question.  Why do people contemplate God, or gods?  What even brings such a topic to our minds?  As far back as we have any historical records there seem to be people seeking to know the answers to the big questions like, where did we come from and is there meaning to life?  

I am sure that being created in the image of God has something to do with it.  We are designed to look at the night sky and wonder what those lights are.  We visit the zoo and recognize a basic difference between us and the animals.  Why are all of them on one side of the bars and we are on the other?  We are weaker, slower and helpless for years, yet we are at the top of the food chain.

A second reason is found in the Bible verse that brought up this question.

(Psa 8:3 KJV)  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
(Psa 8:4 KJV)  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Notice that verse 3 is reflected in my statement about animals and the sunrise. The animals don’t contemplate infinity.  I am not sure they really enjoy the sunrise splendor.  Many of them don’t even know to come in out of the rain.  Of course I notice that my wife cleans out the cat’s liter box and the cat has never worried about mopping the kitchen floor.

I rejoice in the ability to think even if I don’t have a lot of answers.

homo unius libri