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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman The
Community Of The Cat If you are my age, you
may recall Al Stewart's 1976 hit song "The Year Of The Cat."
This article is not about the year of the cat.
In part, it is about the Community of the Cat where it is said that
cats can get depressed at times. This
is especially true for indoor cats like our Timmy who is severely allergic
to grass. This confines him to
inside our house where indoor stimulation is needed to help relieve any
anxiety over being unable to explore the excitement of outdoors.
We know our Timmy and he
knows us. If we say the words
"play," "dinner," or "treats," he comes running.
He is often seen curiously glaring out our windows.
That would create a yearning to investigate what he sees, but as
intriguing as outside is, it's off limits for him.
We are responsible, then, to create a safe cat-inspiring indoor
environment for him. This
should help alleviate any depression caused by his natural impulse to
escape into a world that would eventually kill him.
So, our home has become the Community of the Cat. As my wife and I have
created this Community of the Cat for Timmy, so God has created the
Community of Christ for Christians. As
Christians, God has immersed us into one body, one community (1
Corinthians 12:13). Like the
Community of the Cat, it's meant to be a safe Christian-inspiring place.
It's where we are to exist alongside those whom Jesus has placed us
in personal, supportive relationships. There we harmoniously function to
accomplish God's plans. When
this works as it should, a satisfied contentment should help alleviate our
wandering inclinations. It's
what I believe Psalm 27:4 expresses. I
discovered this verse in 1972 and it's as meaningfully real to me now as
it was back then.
One thing I ask from the
LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in
the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek
him in his temple. In New Testament terms,
the house of the LORD is the church, the Community of Christ, especially
in its localized form. David's
desire has always been my desire. Is
it your desire? Despite Timmy's inner
compulsion to escape, he appreciates the safe environment the Community of the Cat
provides him. His survival
depends on it. As Christians,
are we appreciative of the safe environment the Community of Christ
provides us,
knowing that our survival depends on it?
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