Although the Ragdoll race of cats was cultivated from alley cats (See From Siam to Rags), before we could bring our kitten home we had to sign a contract that she would always be kept as a house cat and that we would never let her roam by herself outside. Why? Because, Ragdolls have no idea what the word “enemy” means. They only know how to love unconditionally. They have no clue how to defend themselves! Our kitten, Roxy, never even once uses her claws–except to sharpen them, which she usually does on our entry mat.
One day we were out walking with our Golden Retriever, Salida, and with Roxy (Yes, she does walk on a leash), when Salida began barking. Now Salida doesn’t bark! But there she was, bounding up into the air and barking. Puzzled, we looked up at the sky just in time to see a bird flying off. It was a hawk who had, apparently, been circling us overhead. And why not? It had spotted an easy prey for dinner: a woolly ball of fur walking on a leash! Yum! Had it not been for doggy sister, Roxy might have become cat food before she even knew it.
But as she looked up at that bird, now flying away, Roxy wanted to play with it. She didn’t even realizing that it could have hurt her.
We, as Christians, are also encouraged to love unconditionally, but more often than not we fall short of this command. Too often we look at others with indifference, or even worse, as the enemy. Is it possible that we are too focused on ourselves instead of others?
The apostle John is quite clear on this subject and he urgently encourages us to personally become acquainted with what love truly means: “My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love – so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about – not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us – perfect love!” (1 John 4:7-12 The Message)
Besides not always knowing how to truly love, we Christians have the tendency to forget that we have an arch enemy, one who will do anything to destroy us. How much easier life would be if we were always prepared for him, if we were to put on our spiritual armament as the apostle Paul encourages us to do (See Ephesians 6:10-18)! How can we even have a chance at survival when we don’t even know we are under attack (Discouragement is his number one weapon of choice!)? A soldier would die quickly in such conditions!
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ – eternal and glorious plans they are! – will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” (1 Peter 5:8-11 The Message)
Only if we stay under the protection of God’s Spirit, only if we learn to listen to His voice, will we be made aware of the planned assaults on our soul. Just like Salida was watching over her kitten sister, God’s Holy Spirit is watching over us and will chase away the enemy of our soul. But only if we let Him.
It is time we learn how to love. But we also need to recognize the attacks of the devil and we need to remember to rely on God’s Spirit to help us in these cases. We are not defenseless with God at our side! He will reveal to us what love truly means. Let us just look at the cross for revival!
Rob Chaffart
(To access the entire “Lessons From a Ragdoll” devotional series, please click here.)