I wasn't expecting a goat to be my teacher. But something kind of special happened yesterday when a good friend of ours helped a new baby goat come into the world. Yes, you might say he was "kidding" around. But you shouldn't.
Right after this little wobbly arrived, his mother ran off and abandoned him (a sad picture of what happens even to some human children). That's when Sandy, the Great Pyrenees guard dog, came to the rescue. Our friend tried to remedy this heartbreaking situation by leaving the baby in a grassy area, near where the little guy had arrived. No deal. Then, Sandy went over to the newborn and started licking off his birth residue. This barnyard drama culminated as Sandy, carrying the little guy's scent, gently nudged the mother over to her baby. She got the point. Her mom instinct finally kicked in as she started licking her kid. In the animal kingdom, when you give your kid a licking, it's a nice thing.
Then my grandson weighed in. When he heard about the guard dog's loving intervention, his instinctive response was, "That's just like Jesus!" I had two reactions. First, "Wow, he's right." Second, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Our grandson explained that he saw that the baby was us, the mother was God and the dog who came to the rescue represented Jesus. Yes, that needs a little theological tweaking. It wasn't God who walked away from me. It was me who walked away from God. Or as the Bible says, "All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own" (Isaiah 53:6 - NLB). Fact is, though, God and I were hopelessly apart. Away from our Father's love, we wander alone and clueless.
Then Jesus came. "There is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity - the man Christ Jesus. He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone" (2 Timothy 2:5 - NLB).
From a barnyard birth drama - from a dog and a couple of goats - I got a glimpse of Good Friday. As Jesus is hanging on that cruel cross, I see Him with one nail-pierced hand in God's hand and the other reaching for me. To bring us together. So I could experience - so you could experience - the love our life depends on.