I had a short list of scriptures about animals.
My prayer partner and I had once been discussing whether our pets would be
in Heaven. I began collecting scriptures to see if the Bible would
give me the answer. As with all things
there are two viewpoints. The viewpoint of the pets going to Heaven
is often explained as emotional and born of wanting them to be there.
I figured it was appropriate to share the
scriptures with you this week as one of my pets is taking up 50% of my
focus on a daily basis.
Our scripture says the animals have the breath of
life. Now we need to look at a gruesome scripture to see that humans,
too, have the breath of life.
"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to
destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and
every thing that is in the earth shall die."
Gen 7:15
In Genesis 1:28 animals are called living things.
Living things comes from the Hebrew word that says to live, exist.
Genesis 3:20 uses the exact same word to refer to people, "And Adam
called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living."
God blessed the fish and birds in Genesis 1:22,
"And God blessed them...." God also blessed man in Genesis 1:28
using the same word, "And God blessed them...."
So, this isn't proof that animals go to Heaven,
but it shows that there is something special about animals. When you
look at how pets love people you need to remember that God is love.
Any love begins with God. There is evidence that many animals love
their mates and love other animals in their families or groups.
Again, love comes from God.
The last scripture I present to you is just
something that we can rest on and trust God. It doesn't answer the
question of whether or not pets and/or animals will be in Heaven, but it
provides food for thought.
"Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the
desire of every living thing."
Psalm 145:16
Living thing again is he same word as we found in
Genesis 1:28 for animals and 3:20 for people. Is your pet desiring to
be with you all the time? Do you desire to see them in Heaven? |