Will our pets make it to Heaven?
I often read Facebook postings about prayer requests for dying dogs and terminally sick pets. In some cases, it was a sort of eulogy for the pet that had passed. I have had my share of pet loss. I have lost the cat Obioma (Igbo word for kindness) and Cloe, the dog we welcomed from the Shelter. Cloe was such a sweet dog to humans that if he could open the door to a passerby and give him a tour of our bedrooms, he would do it. Unfortunately, Cloe did not like other dogs and that was his undoing. Having escaped from the compound, Cloe attacked a dog on a walk with a neighbor. Our neighbor tried to stop the fight, but Cloe attacked her in the process. Thus, Cloe was put down. Though Cloe was my first experience living under the same roof with a dog, the death of Cloe was not my first experience in losing a pet.
While growing up in Nigeria, we had a goat named Nwagbobia (meaning Lady). Unlike other goats and sheep that were contained in the pen, she moved freely in the yard and had access to the rooms. She was our pet. Without any conscious training, Nwagbobia learned not to poop in the rooms. She was the most favored animal in the house. Like all sheep and goats that we had, Nwagbobia had a date with death.
During one of my early teenage years, it was her turn to be the Christmas goat. It was when my parents made this known to us that I realized how much we loved Lady. The idea of a Christmas goat had always been fun and exciting until it was Lady’s turn. We did not find it funny at all. On the morning of that Christmas that Nwagbobia (Lady) was scheduled to be slaughtered for Christmas, Lady was nowhere to be found. She mysteriously disappeared! At least my parents believed that initially as we all acted ignorant of her whereabouts.
Fortunately, it was us the kids that were asked to go and fish out Lady from where she was hiding. We searched “everywhere” and Lady disappeared for good. Our parents suspected that one of us had hidden Lady and firmly asked the guilty one to step forward. No one moved. We the kids looked at each other with this cynical questioning “I am innocent” kind of look -“Did you hide Lady?”. After all the tricks used by my parents to identify the guilty one failed, our family made do with chicken stew and rice that Christmas, but the life of Lady was spared.
Lady mysteriously showed up after Christmas. There was joy that the lost had been found, perhaps not as much as the angels rejoice in heaven when a sinner repents and is saved. Lady lived until very old age when she could hardly run. Our Family sold Lady since we could neither imagine the hurt of having Lady killed for meat nor the pain of burying her after death.
As I read posts from friends expressing emotions about their dead or dying pets, I am reminded of how much we loved Lady and how much I wished both Lady and Cloe could rejoin my family. This got me thinking and asking: will our pets make it to heaven?
My answer will be yes. It was God’s plan from creation that animals will be included in the restored world. Just like every other part of creation, Animals were made to also reflect God’s “invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20). Animals were saved from the flood, together with Noah’s family and were included in the covenant God made with Noah. ( Genesis 9: 8-11.) Even in the book of Revelation, Chapter 11, the Lord will be returning to the earth, riding on a horse. He will usher in the new heaven and earth in which mankind will live with God for ever.
Look at what the bible says in Isaiah 11: 6-9 about that new heaven and earth:
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Our pets touch our lives in so many positive ways, bringing comfort, companionship, emotional support and security. I have no doubt that the loving good Lord will bring them to us in the new heaven and earth. The best part is that in this new heaven earth, there will be no fears, no pain, no sicknesses and no death, no pain. Then, Cloe can spend the whole day giving house tours to willing passerby while Lady Nwagbobia will never be afraid of being the Christmas goat; for Christ who is celebrated at Christmas will be with us always.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rev Joshua Amaezechi, an ordained Minister in the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA), serving as the President of the LEMA Institute, a mission organization that trains pastors and leaders in Africa and the US. Also, he served formerly as Pastor, Calvary Community Church, Plainwell and the Head Chaplain at the Kalamazoo County Jail, Michigan through the Forgotten Jail Ministries.
The opinions and comments expressed in this blog are exclusively that of the author. The LEMA Institute or its Board and faculty is not responsible for any aspects of the information supplied by the blogger. The LEMA Institute, however, welcomes suggestions for improvement and seeks your continued prayers and financial support.