A friend, Daryl, shared this story with
me and it got me to thinking about other applications.
Daryl has a real problem with
allergies, especially to hair cat. When he was a youngster he often
visited his best friend who had a cat. Daryl was hesitant to visit,
because of the cat. One day his friend told him he had solved the
problem and Daryl should come on over for a visit. He didn't know
what to expect, but when he got there he was confronted by a extremly
bald and unhappy cat. His friend had shaved the cat for Daryl. Of
course the young man then had to deal with the consequences with his
parents, but can you imagine what he had to go through to shave a
cat? Would you have been committed enough to a friend to do that?
In our world we are constantly
challenged to step up and come to the aid of others. Every day we are
bombarded with advertisments about donating to organizations that
help others. Those are great and needful, but the majority of the
time it requires only the gift of money, not a presonal commitment.
We don't put ourselves at risk, we are not required to become
personally involved.
The question we need to ask ourselves
is who we would be willing to shave the cat for? Do you have friends
and family that are struggling in some way? Maybe someone that you
have just heard of that could use some help that you could supply.
Could it be that your church needs something that only you can
supply.
So the question is, what cat are you
going to have to shave for the benefit of someone else? I would
imagine that shaving a cat has its draw back, cats have claws and
teeth. There is pain involved and it takes more than just a casual
commitment to get the job done. You can't just throw money at the cat
and hope it goes bald. You have to grab hold of it and perhaps suffer
someone else's benefit.
The thing I want you to remember is
that the young man in the story was willing to suffer for the benefit
of his friend. Could it be that you have a friend that needs the
peace and security that only comes from having a relationship with
Christ? Are you willing to shave the cat (so to speak), to give them
what they really need. To face the pain and possible rejection just
because you care for them?
The scripture tells us that: “God so
loved the world that he gave his only son”, (John 3:16). He is not
asking us to do that, but it is our example of what real love is
like. What are you willing to do?
