Heavenly Haystack.com

Question: My cat died recently, and I want to know if she’ll be in heaven. I’ve heard “No, she won’t be there,” and I’ve heard “Yes, she will be there.” I’m confused. Do you know the answer?

Answer: Anyone who’s been close to a pet wants to be assured that their pet will be with them in heaven. But the Bible doesn’t give a clear yes or no on the topic. So that’s probably why you’ve heard both answers.

As you mature you’ll discover that there are plenty of other topics the Bible doesn’t come right out and say yes or no about. So for those looking to the Bible as an answer book, this can be disappointing. But the Bible isn’t intended to be a dictionary or encyclopedia.

It seems to me that the Bible was written as a communication tool for God to be in contact with humans and for humans to understand God better. Perhaps we can find out enough about God to come up with an idea of whether or not our pets will be in heaven.

Since God is love (1 John 4:8), and since heaven is a wonderful place God is preparing for His people (John 14:1-3), surely God would include a special pet as part of heaven. After all, God created all the animals in the first place, actually forming them out of the dust of the earth (see Genesis 2:19), just as He did Adam (Genesis 2:7).

Because God commanded Adam and Eve to be masters over the rest of the creation (Genesis 1:28), many people make a clear separation between humans and other parts of God’s creation.

And although the rest of creation suffered from Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and suffered a similar fate during the Flood, God spared a portion of the animals in the ark, enough to keep those species alive. In that sense God did “save” the animals, at least during the Flood.

When Jesus came to save humanity, He demonstrated even more tenderness and compassion than most people expected (Matthew 5:38-48). He included women and children, who were often excluded by others (Luke 7:36–8:3; Mark 10:13-16).

But I’m not aware of any examples in the Gospels that describe Jesus healing an animal or resurrecting a pet or farm animal. I’m not saying that it didn’t happen. I’m just saying that if it did happen, it wasn’t recorded in the Bible.

Jesus did say that people were more important than animals (see Matthew 12:11, 12), which doesn’t mean that animals don’t count. It’s just that humans are more important.

Will your pet be in heaven? I don’t know. But I do know that all of creation is looking forward to the end of this earth. Perhaps if we look forward to it as well, that hope will sustain us while we wait to see Jesus and all He has in store for us in heaven!

Your self-pity is an injury to you; you sympathize with yourself, feel that you are not esteemed as you should be, that your work is altogether too hard, and your best efforts are unappreciated. These feelings are the result of a spiritual disease, which can be cured only through faith in Christ. The temptation seizes you when you are weary or perplexed; but when the first symptoms appear, and the enemy works to make you grumble and murmur, look unto Jesus, trust in your Saviour. This is the only cure for this spiritual malaria.... 

If you allow your mind to be occupied with these things, the enemy will see that you are kept busy. He puts his magnifying glass before your eyes, and mole hills of difficulty are made to appear as mountains.... You need to understand how to repose in God. A wise heart, molded by the Holy Spirit, it is your privilege to have; and this is the foundation of all true happiness....

God would have you trust in His love, and be constantly guarding your soul by locking the gate of your thoughts, that they shall not become unmanageable; for when you allow your mind to indulge these thoughts of self-pity, the enemy comes in to suggest the most unkind and unreasonable things in regard to those who would do you good, and only good....

A message on Jesus in our Adventist history. 

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Matthew 18:1-4

It’s a sign of absolute trust, the little boy in Matthew 18 showed in Jesus; a child’s trust.  He came when Jesus called, without hesitation.  Jesus put him in the middle of a bunch of competitive, immature, selfish-acting men, and he stayed just where Jesus put him.  Do we have that kind of implicit faith in what God is doing with us and for us?  

Rebekah was just out to get some water for her house.  A simple request for a drink led to the chance of a lifetime.  She had made up her mind to respond when God called and to go wherever He led and to do what He required.  Any chances for hesitation were cast aside.  She simply said, “I will go.”  

When I first decided to go to Korea as a missionary, it started as a statement I made in front of God and my college roommate at the time.  I promised that if I could get a mission on a silver platter, in other words, if I didn’t have to pay for myself or raise funds to go, I would go.  I put it out of my mind, but I felt like God would hold me to it, eventually.  

‘Eventually’ meant a couple of years later.  I had a close relative who had it in his mind to go to South Korea to teach English.  He talked so frequently about it that I gathered a lot of information about the programs, unintentionally.  Around the same time, my hairdresser mentioned that she knew someone who had taught English in South Korea, and then traveled to India as a teacher.  In addition, both of my roommates from Andrews were also considering going to Korea.  

I was reading my Bible, praying for a job, and doing online searches.  On a long walk with my family one Sabbath, I suddenly realized that all of the talk about South Korea was too coincidental to be a coincidence.  I had never heard the Holy Spirit so clearly in my life.  At that time, I was also recognizing His work in my relationships with my family.  

I started exploring options with my first roommate, who had already begun the application process.  I was considering work at a non-Adventist institute, but the promise I had made before her and God came back into my mind.  Since I knew He wanted me at the SDA Language Institute and He had opened the way financially, I didn’t dare say no to missionary work.  It was really exciting, and somehow I wasn’t scared at all, even when my roommate found a job and decided not to go with me while North Korea was posturing with a nuclear weapon.  I was certain that in spite of everything, I was on the right track.  

I honestly procrastinated, I had to move during the application process, I made mistakes in my walk with God and my family, but the doors opened anyway, and I was able to complete the application process and go where I was called.  The moment I finally began to feel fear was when I arrived at the terminal in Atlanta where Korean Air was loading.  I think I had a small taste of what Rebekah must have gone through as her home and family receded into the distance behind her camel.  Coming from the American Midwest, I felt overwhelmed by what seemed like a sea of Asians, but the Holy Spirit reminded me that God had clearly brought me that far.   In spite of myself, He would use me as a missionary and a friend.  I relaxed and sat down.    

When I arrived, things were much better than I had expected.  I made a lot of friends and had the privilege of attending baptisms of some with whom I shared the Bible.  Not all of my friends have been baptized nor are some even willing to believe what the Bible says.  However, as I lived, prayed, studied the Bible, and worked, I saw God’s unmistakable leading from the everyday interactions to the specific work I did while overseas.  There is no more satisfying feeling than knowing I responded to Jesus when He called.  

The greatest accomplishments of anyone in the Bible were done when they listened to the call of God.  When they responded and gave Him full control of where He sent them and what He wanted for them, they succeeded.  Imagine if Mary had said to Gabriel, “I am not God’s slave.  It’s not fair that He wants to use me like this.  I’m not doing it.  I don’t feel like it.”  We’d have a completely different story of how Jesus was born.  Jesus, Himself was obedient to God’s call for the only Savior this planet could possibly have.  We don’t even want to think of what would have happened if Jesus had not let God do what He had planned for His life.  

The feeling of knowing that we have done exactly what God has asked of us is more powerful than fear of the unfamiliar, personal desires for gain, and any dreams we may have imagined for ourselves.  It is God’s dreams which will lead us to the place where we will be our best and do our best for others.  Life is about serving others.  When Jesus calls us to him, like that little child, when we humble ourselves and let Him take us where He wants us, He uses us to serve others.  When God makes things clear to us, are we determined to follow?