Animal Massacre

I am probably late to the table, but just saw someone whose facebook status was commenting at the horror that is the Zanesville, Ohio Animal Massacre. If you are also late to the table and have missed this important piece of news, here's what happened. A man who, for whatever reason, was in possession of say 50 wild and exotic animals (including lions, tigers, bears, wolves, a monkey, etc) cut those animals out of their cages before committing suicide. The man had recently been released from prison and due to Ohio's lenient animal laws, was allowed to have these rare and beautiful animals. This in turn caused frantic 911 calls from residents in the town who were seeing lions and wolves and bears on their roads, beside their cars, in their yards, etc which lead to the police getting involved as well as zoo official, animal experts like Jack Hanna, and many others. Under the orders of the Zanesville Sheriff, 49 of the animals (including the endangered Bengal Tiger) were inhumanely gunned down at close range by the deputies and the pistols at their side.

To witness the news footage and pictures showing these AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL creatures piled up, lying dead on the ground was HEARTBREAKING. The first thing that went through my mind was "These animals were killed for doing what they were CREATED to do!" Wild animals are not meant to be pets, are not meant to be in zoos, are not meant to be entertainment. They were created with animal instincts-to hunt, to fight, and to love-just like humans. They were created to run free and roam the earth looking for food, creating relationships, and taking place in the circle of life (to sound completely cheesy).

It reminds me of reading the book Radical by David Platt. In the book Platt talks about these underground house churches in Asia, where spiritual leaders meet together to pray and learn and worship, knowing if they're discovered they could face death. He writes:

"Imagine all the blinds closed on the windows of a dimly lit room. Twenty leaders from different churches in the area sat in a circle on the floor with their Bibles open. Some of them had sweat on their foreheads after walking for miles to get there. Others were dirty from the dust in the villages from which they had set out on bikes early that morning. They had gathered in secret. The had intentionally come to this place at different times throughout the morning so as not to draw attention to the meeting that was occurring. They lived in a country in Asia where it is illegal for them to gather like this. If caught, they could lose their land, their jobs, their families, or their lives."

Can you imagine? Being put to death for doing what God created us to do, which is worship. Patricia Bankhead writes:

"We were created to worship God from the very beginning. Did you know that worship is not just our praise but also our obedience? When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God they chose not to worship Him. To worship God means to obey, honor, reverence, respect, praise, and give Him all the glory. The first commandment God gave Moses was to worship Him and Him alone. God demands worship because He and He alone is worthy of it. He requests that we acknowledge His greatness, His power and His glory. Revelation 4:11 tells us, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” We were created for this very purpose; to worship.
Isaiah 43:7 says, "Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."

Jesus told us to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:32). This means our heart, soul and mind are to worship God. Romans 12:1 tell us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. This means we worship God with our bodies. Our hands and feet were created for worship. Then Hebrews 13:15 tells us to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Our lips also were created for worship. We are to worship God with our whole being. We were created to be instruments of worship."

Yet even though we were created to worship in all that we say, do, and think-there are people in this world being KILLED for it. We take it for granted in America because we have the freedom to worship as we please. But other countries do not have that privilege. So just like with these POWERFUL and AWESOME creatures that God created, who were simply doing what they were created to do and murdered for it, can you imagine seeing pictures and news footage of PEOPLE lying dead on the ground instead of animals? Can you imagine seeing pictures of a 14 year old Asian teenager with bullet holes in her back, all because she was caught going to a prayer meeting? Can you imagine flipping on your television and seeing 49 mothers and fathers lying in a pile on the ground, blood everywhere, gunned down because of their freedom in Christ Jesus?

There will be MANY Americans who will do everything in their power after this tragedy in Ohio to seek justice for those animals, and to ensure that nothing like this EVER happens again. But what about that Asian teenager or those orphaned children whose parents were killed for worshiping God? Will we do everything in our power to ensure that nothing like THAT ever happens again?

This blog is not at all to say we should not be affected by this tragedy or protect those animals. I very much think that it is our duty. But I also think it is our duty to protect our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering around the world because they are simply doing what they were created by God to do which is to worship Him. Let's keep our family in underground churches, in prison, or who have lost loved ones in this fight for freedom in our prayers. Covering them with protection from the Evil one. And loving on them as if our arms could reach them.

In Him,

Meg