Animals One Day

Going to sleep recently, I found myself trying to picture the New Earth, and I thought of animals. I don't think that animals will die when Jesus makes all things new, and I'm not even sure that they'll reproduce. (Where would all those bunnies go if none of them ever died!) Then, the tears started coming when I realized the amazing relationships we will would have, if all that's true, with these beautiful, wonderful, wise creatures that we will share eternity with.

I started dreaming about a cat that had been in my home for 100 years. Or, let's say 1000 years. How well we would know each other. To walk in from the day to the room that Jesus has prepared for me and to see that cat whom I have shared my life with for centuries. The connection we'd feel--the love.

Then, I realized that I was thinking in old ways. I was thinking, "My cat." But, wouldn't the truth be that she would be our cat. She would belong to all of the saints, and they would all belong to her. Maybe she'd call my room home for a while, but she's a cat, right? She'd go explore your room and the other rooms around. She would weave her beauty in and out of our lives as she visited us. And, she'd never grow old. She'd never die. She'd always be quick and strong and bright. Occasionally, we'd see the kitten come out in her, but we'd also see her getting wiser and wiser.

I thought a little bit about other animals, but then I realized I was still caught in thinking the old ways. I was thinking about domestic animals like cats and dogs. It hit me, though, that when Jesus makes all things right, all animals will be our companions. All of a sudden, I realized that the kitty visiting my room could be a leopard or a bobcat. I could take a nap with one of those majestic creatures. I will really run my hands through a lion's mane, like Lucy in Narnia. Then, I started thinking about how the New Jerusalem would have to have animals adding to its beauty. I would walk out of my room, and a macaw would be in the tree outside. I guess I could really talk to the animals because of the words that he'll know and all the words he'll keep on learning. Or maybe it's a koala in the tree. Or a mongoose curled up under my bed. A monkey sitting on my shoulder as I walk to talk to a friend.

I then thought about an adventure with friends outside the Heavenly City. We walk out on the plains to the west of the city, and a herd of mustangs gallop toward us. Of course, we're not afraid because they're just coming to nuzzle. We know them each by name. We have their favorite treats in our pockets. We easily slip up on their backs, and we all travel together toward the sunset. As we reach the edge of the great forest, we dismount and start walking again. The woods are bursting with life. A falcon swoops close, you hold out your arm, and she lands. Field mice scamper up, and we scratch them behind the ears. Two bears lumber by, and we all get another true bear hug. The stream ahead is perfectly clear. Rainbow trout glint in a pool of sunlight, and crayfish peer out from under rocks. They're not hiding, though. It's just that we woke them up from a nap.


There's more, so much more that I can't imagine now. The coral reefs. The dolphins and the whales. The gazelle and the elephants. The snakes with their legs restored. I can't see it yet. But, Jesus died to release the Earth from the weight of sin. I dream of the day when i will know the animals as God intended them to be, undying and unafraid.