“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven – A time to give birth…”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a
Lynx and Cheetah were twin kittens. Lynx was a boy and Cheetah was his sister. They were born wild. Their Mom and Dad were both wild cats, and their other sister Snowy was a wild cat. Their family lived under a small storage barn. They had to be very careful to not be seen by people, because they would be trapped and taken to the pound. Cats that had been trapped and taken to the pound were never seen again. So Lynx and Cheetah and Snowy were very careful and stayed hidden most of the time. They would only venture out at night with the protection of the darkness.
Lynx and Cheetah ate whatever they could catch, and drank rainwater. Whatever was smaller than them was possible food. Whatever was larger than them could possibly hurt or even eat them, so Lynx and Cheetah became excellent tree climbers to escape any dangers.
It was very cold that winter and Lynx and Cheetah and their parents were very very hungry. One evening when they were out hunting for food, the lady who owned the small storage barn under which they lived saw the kittens! The next night their Dad went out hunting for food and did not return home. The following night their Mom went out searching for food and did not return home. The following night Lynx went out searching for food. He smelled something wonderful and slowly approached the delicious food. He was so hungry! Just as he began to eat he heard a loud crash! He had been trapped! He could not get out of the cage even though he tried and tried. He was so scared and so very alone!
The next morning men came and took the cage with Lynx in it to the pound. It was like a jail for animals, with many cages filled with cats and kittens, and dogs and puppies. Lynx was placed in a small cage. His Mom and Dad were in nearby cages but Lynx could not get near them. The next two days Cheetah and Snowy, who had also been trapped, joined Lynx. The three kittens snuggled together very tightly. They were so afraid.
There was no way to escape. There was nothing that they could do. Their situation was hopeless.
The hopeless condition of Lynx and Cheetah and their family is a picture of every boy and girl and man and woman today living in a world cursed by sin.
All of creation has been impacted by sin. Life is characterized by hard work and toil, by strife and conflict, and by a futile struggle to survive. We experience tears and sorrow, crying and pain, death and mourning. All of creation groans and suffers because of the impact of sin.
“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
God’s heart grieves over the devastating presence and impact of sin.
Supplemental Material for Born Wild
Sin has impacted all of God’s creation including people, animals, and nature.
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he will rule over you.”
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.” Gen 3:14-19
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:19-22
How long is the land to mourn
And the vegetation of the countryside to wither?
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it,
Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because men have said, “He will not see our latter ending.” Jeremiah 12:4
“It has been made a desolation,
Desolate, it mourns before Me;
The whole land has been made desolate,
Because no man lays it to heart.” Jeremiah 12:11
Spiritual death (separation from God) and physical death are the result of sin.
The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
All people have been impacted by sin. Life is difficult, and evil flourishes. We are helpless, powerless, separated from God, and cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior to deliver us from the bondage of sin.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:6
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins Ephesians 2:1
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Romans 5:10
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity
2 Timothy 1:9
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 14:6
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10
God’s heart grieves over the devastating presence and impact of sin.
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