Accept Jesus - God so loved the world that he gave his only son

A friend, Daryl, shared this story with me and it got me to thinking about other applications.

Daryl has a real problem with allergies, especially to hair cat. When he was a youngster he often visited his best friend who had a cat. Daryl was hesitant to visit, because of the cat. One day his friend told him he had solved the problem and Daryl should come on over for a visit. He didn't know what to expect, but when he got there he was confronted by a extremely bald and unhappy cat. His friend had shaved the cat for Daryl. Of course the young man then had to deal with the consequences with his parents, but can you imagine what he had to go through to shave a cat? Would you have been committed enough to a friend to do that?

In our world we are constantly challenged to step up and come to the aid of others. Every day we are bombarded with advertisements about donating to organizations that help others. Those are great and needful, but the majority of the time it requires only the gift of money, not a personal commitment. We don't put ourselves at risk, we are not required to become personally involved.

The question we need to ask ourselves is who we would be willing to shave the cat for? Do you have friends and family that are struggling in some way? Maybe someone that you have just heard of that could use some help that you could supply. Could it be that your church needs something that only you can supply.

So the question is, what cat are you going to have to shave for the benefit of someone else? I would imagine that shaving a cat has its draw back, cats have claws and teeth. There is pain involved and it takes more than just a casual commitment to get the job done. You can't just throw money at the cat and hope it goes bald. You have to grab hold of it and perhaps suffer someone else's benefit.

The thing I want you to remember is that the young man in the story was willing to suffer for the benefit of his friend. Could it be that you have a friend that needs the peace and security that only comes from having a relationship with Christ? Are you willing to shave the cat (so to speak), to give them what they really need. To face the pain and possible rejection just because you care for them?

The scripture tells us that: “God so loved the world that he gave his only son”, (John 3:16). He is not asking us to do that, but it is our example of what real love is like. What are you willing to do?

--Russ Lawson