Moose Calf

Thanks to my sister Sylvia for forwarding this pictorial message to me. As in most everything, I saw a spiritual analog in it. Enjoy.

You don’t see a moose calf every day! A baby moose was distressed in a creek. A man got him out of the creek, tried to find the mother and send him on his way. But eventually the calf stumbled back into the creek and was rescued again. After the second rescue, the calf followed its savior home. The man's cabin was too small for any-size moose, so he took the calf to a neighbor, who took these photos. The next day they took the calf to a woman who looks after wild animals and she put it in a pen with a rescued fawn. How about a collective "aawww." (2)And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them (3)and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4)Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (5)"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me," (Matthew 18:2-5 ESV) But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 19:14 ESV) Please note how the moose calf interacted with those around it; the fawn was fine, the dogs were fine, even the people were fine with it. Taken from the wild as a new-born, its mother had no opportunity to train it to be wary of predators—four, or two legged. It hadn't learned not to trust, but viewed the world with wide-eyed innocence. That child-like nature is what Jesus meant when he said, "turn and become like children," and, "to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." While human beings are born selfish, crying like little babies when our needs aren't met—we are, after all, babies when we are born—if those needs are met and we feel loved, we grow up to become well-adjusted adults, able to love others and accept their love freely. Or, at least we would, if it weren't for our human family legacy, sin. Part of being born anew in God's Spirit is turning from our native, human nature: our arbitrary, rebellious reaction to authority, our envy when we perceive others have more "stuff" than we do, our drive to get what we want at all cost and the dissatisfaction even when we get it, our impulse to lie when the truth sounds better, our need to subjugate others in this survival-of-the-fittest world. The list of behaviors that prove our depravity could continue endlessly, yet there are people whose jaded conscience prevents their grasping the simple fact of our depravity. The only way we can begin turning from our rebellious path is to allow God's Son Jesus to be our scapegoat, to take our sin-guilt upon himself and to allow his holy blood to cleanse us of our sin. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."(John 14:6 ESV) (19)Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, (20)by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, (21)and since we have a great priest over the house of God, (22)let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22 ESV) If God's gift of eternal life seems too good to be true, you're right—and wrong. The world's only true free lunch is actually not free at all. Jesus paid dearly to buy us back from the prince of this world. We just have to believe, turn from our life of rebellion, and obey, to accept his invitation to eternal life. With a deal like that waiting to be had, what are we waiting for?