Baxter has a very positive attitude towards life. He expects good things to come his way. Probably he holds this view because he is a cat. You see, cats have this outlook that life is at their service. You’ve heard, I expect, the old distinction between dogs and cats. Dogs have masters whom they idolize and try to please. Cats have servants whom they allow to take care of them. Being Baxter’s servant, I can attest to my role, and how he absorbs the things that provide him with pleasure and satisfaction. Give him a little catnip, and he is rolling on his back. Brush his back, and he purrs and purrs. Provide a meal, and Baxter dives into the bowl, chomping its contents with gusto. When something good comes his way, Baxter doesn’t hold back. He relishes its goodness, and how it lifts his spirit to enjoy living more.
I found this reaction in sharp contrast to a few comments I have heard recently about the beautiful, warm, early spring weather we have been experiencing. “Don’t worry. We’ll pay for this.” gives voice to the wary and suspicious attitude that has come out with the daffodils. If it’s good, there has to be a catch in it that will ruin it for us. If we like it, we will lose it. Something will happen to take it away. Life is out to make us miserable and defeat us in the end. Don’t trust what looks good and hopeful. It will only prove deceptive, and catch us off guard to dash our hopes. We don’t deserve pleasure and happiness, and in the end, life will exact a toll from every one of us, robbing us of what we cherish and enjoy.
Yes, there are losses, pain and suffering, disappointments and frustrations in the course of a lifetime. We have our share of rainy and cold days. But the question that faces us is what are we made for. Are we dogs or cats in God’s eyes? Is our lot to satisfy a capricious master so that he might throw us a bone once in a while and pet our head in a condescending gesture of divine pleasure? Or has he chosen to be our servant, blessing us despite the hardships and heartaches that come our way, and sharing these to lighten the burden. Is God for us or against us?
Saint Paul eloquently answered that last question in his letter to the Romans. “If God is for us, who can be against us? Is it possible that he who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?” God is the servant who saves us. God’s service does not demean Him, but ennobles us and shows us what true love looks like. Such love takes on the trials and selfishness of others and redeems them by absorbing the ultimate consequences that such darkness exacts on life. It dies to what could be its own self-serving pleasures to show those who are not sure of life’s source in goodness and grace, that in the end, all will be well. True love is crucified, and on the cross we see that both in the darkness of a frigid winter and the warmth of an early spring, we are blessed “because of Him who has loved us.” No change in the forecast of our lives can take that love away.
So enjoy the warm weather. Relish the good things that come your way. Take heart when the weather or your fortunes grow cold. The divine, crucified love that serves us is true. Cats got it right from God’s point of view in Christ. Soak in life’s blessings, and trust that God’s love finally wins out.
