Pet Lamb

Most mornings my granddaughter and I have devotions together. I used to read to her, but as a second-grader, she likes to do the reading. I love encouraging her to read, especially God's Word. An added bonus is the bond we have developed over the past year. The discussions we have are usually lively and often I am taught new truths from God's Word as well. I realize God can and does use others to teach us, and the other morning was one of those moments. What a blessing!

We were reading More Little Visits With God by Allan Hart Jahsman and Martin P. Simon. The title of the story was, "Your Pets and You". A little boy wanted a puppy in the story and Alexandra easily identified with the child. The scripture basis was:

The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12:10 NIV

The father was letting the little boy know that he would need to take care of a puppy. With blessings come responsibilities and the father wanted to make sure the little boy knew God expected him to take care of a new puppy. The story ended with the little boy understanding, memorizing the scripture from God's Word, agreeing to do what it said, and getting his puppy.

At the end of each story are a few questions starting with the basics such as whom, what, and when. Alexandra loves to have me answer them when she reads. Mind you, these questions are for children, so you would think, piece of cake. I have noticed that sometimes they are much harder than I anticipate, but usually I'm okay. She enjoys letting you know if you're correct.

Well, this morning I was on a roll and thought I was doing pretty well until I heard her say, "No, Grandma, that is not right." Now, let's see how you would answer. The question was hypothetical: "What pet do you think Jesus might have had as a boy?"

Now my imagination is not that wild, so I came to what I thought was a very good answer. A dog! After all, the boy in the story wanted a dog, so that seemed like a very logical conclusion. Wrong!

She began by telling me, "Think about it Grandma, we sing 'Worthy is the Lamb' in church, so He had a lamb." Was I surprised to hear her answer! It meant she had been listening. I know that Jesus was the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.

"Worthy is the Lamb, who is slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:12 NIV

That is what the phrase usually means, but in her reasoning was a wonderful truth. After all, isn't Jesus the Good Shepherd and aren't we often like sheep? I quickly agreed with her and went to work thinking about being Jesus' pet lamb.

... He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart ... Isaiah 40:11 NIV

What a great picture the Bible gives us. Think with me how you, like me, are so special to our Lord that He loves us as little pet lambs. He even carries us in His arms, close to His heart. The twenty-third Psalm comes to mind and tells us we are totally cared for by the Shepherd.

The LORD is my Shepherd; I have all that I need. Psalms 23:1 NLT

Copyright © 2008 Kathy Schultz. Used by permission.