We're More Than Goats

"What if Earth be but the shadow of heaven?"

                                        - John Milton

I have friends who own a farm; on their farm they raise goats. 
The one conclusion I have drawn after several years on this farm: Goats are Stupid!

One must only think about this rationally for a moment.
A goat will spend his life eating whatever is available at the time, it will be nudged and herded by dogs around the farm, the bucks will mate with the does and then one day, the goat will look around and see their 'goat friends' are no longer there, but the others keep on living just as they had the day before.

Seriously, though, I doubt if the average goat has this much self realization.

Now, from a goat's perspective, to the degree which a goat may think at all, a goat would presume and believe that he is ordering his own destiny.
The goats in this herd do not realize that their entire lives, at every stage, is totally orchestrated according to the sovereign, rational plan devised by my friends.

As I undergo another bout with internal tumors, I think back to those first days when I was first diagnosed. Back then I wondered at times if humans stood in relation to God as do those goats to us.
Maybe in some ways we do; Scripture does refer to believers as sheep and God does use the possessive pronoun when referring to us.
In truth, I know humanity is treated better by God than the goats. 
Also, I seriously doubt our free will, though void of pure moral liberty, is relegated to a position like that of a soulless, domesticated animal.

From a very early age, Christians have been taught that our planet represents God's work; if this is true, we will never grasp true reality until God is taken into account.
Furthermore, we will never understand what we are meant to understand on earth until we establish a relationship with Him.

In the scientific world, there are those (Atheists) who speak of an 'anthropic principle' being present and evident in creation.
To put it another way, in one man's estimation, "The universe knew we were coming..."
And if you want to put it in a Biblical way - The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows the work of His hands.

Though there are those who ignore the signs around us on an increasing level, occasionally, there is a shock so great to our system and spirit that we instead ignore the naysayers and turn to God.
For the American citizen of our generation that day was 11 September 2001.

I remember what seemed to be an otherwise perfect fall Tuesday very well.
On that day, though theologians had been exposing it for years, evil exposed the inner shallowness of our entire society.
As a result, all television and radio commercials - stopped.
Professional sports ceased.
Married couples canceled divorce plans all over the nation; parents began to choose spending more time with their children over working longer hours.

For the first time in many people's lives - they saw the comparative meaningless of their lives when confronted with such tragedy.

Scientists have long said that all humans have a 'selfish gene' that seeks its own and motivates us to do what we do for our own benefit.
I'm not a scientist, but I know on that day, new heroes gave their lives for people they had never met; skin color, gender, sexual preference nor religion made a difference.
And amazingly, the New York Times ran a separate article for every victim; showing the world that we believe that every life matters and every life has value.

Many people in modern society haven't renounced spirituality and that's good; but sadly, they have replaced it with weaker substitutes.
Unlike the past generations, who turned to God weekly instead of just when He's needed the most, this generation seems to be unsure about God Himself.
Yet, the one thing that remains and we cannot change is the fact that there is something within us that causes us to long for something much greater than ourselves.

In short, we are much more that goats on a farm.

And whether a person is suffering from Cancer or enjoying a honeymoon; this longing is there within our hearts until it is satisfied.
Yet, it can only be satisfied when it is satisfied in the person of Christ.

Seek Him, Find Him, Know Him, Serve Him - you're not a goat, you're meant to be a child of the King of the Ages.

Until next time, go win one for the good guys.