5

Just the Beginning

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.

ZECHARIAH 4:10

It was indeed just the beginning of my adventures with wildlife when Skeeter and the Ringtail Gang fully returned to the wild side. Since then, a number of animals have come and gone at the Lion’s Den, my specially installed wildlife shed that now houses much of my rehab caging. Many of their stories are soon to unfold in these pages, including my adventures with Spark and Pigeon George and Jay-Jay and Bunny (not a very original name, I admit) and Frodo. As a rehabber releasing these animals back into the wild, I shouldn’t name them at all because it can foster attachment. But most rehabbers end up naming the animals anyway.

Speaking of names, as soon as you walk in the door of the wildlife shed, you’ll see a metallic gold-on-black drawing of an incredible lion’s head. The drawing represents Jesus as the Lion of Judah and has the words “Be Strong and Courageous” inscribed on it—a reference to Joshua 1, where the Lord tells Joshua to do just that. Each time I walk into the Lion’s Den, I thank the Lion of Judah for being with me whenever I care for one of His small creatures.

Depending on the circumstances, animals in need of help come into rehab with a backstory I may or may not know. If only the animals could talk and fill me in! I do my best to figure out what happened to them, with the help of any human rescuers who bring them my way. Then I fix whatever is troubling them as best I can so they can regain their freedom fast and live out their lives in the wild, as they were meant to do.

That is what the rest of my animal tales are all about—the Lion of Judah and His birds and His beasts and me, a simple believer involved in wildlife rehabilitation. I think I am actually the one being rehabilitated as He takes me on this adventure of getting to know so many of His furred and feathered ones. They often make me laugh, and sometimes make me cry, and always show me something new about the intricacy of God’s creation.

In the Beginning…

Before I tell you in the next chapter about the adventure I had with an unbelievably tiny spark of life that came in, let’s take a quick look at the very beginning of the animals. In the Bible’s record, I noticed something interesting about God’s creation of the animals. From the beginning, He divided the animal world into three categories, which sets the stage for how I view the orphans I rescue and release and how I relate to them:

God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:24-25 NIV).

Notice that this identifies for us wild animals, livestock, and creatures that move along the ground (which scholars classify as possibly including reptiles, insects, and other such small animals). God Himself put in place these three distinctions among the animals He created for us to enjoy. Keeping this in mind can give us a better understanding of how we humans relate to the animals, particularly to the different kinds.

For instance, I must say that I find wildlife rehabilitation to be a different sort of animal, so to speak, from keeping livestock or having pets. Granted, the Bible tells us that “every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue” (James 3:7-8 HCSB). “Taming the human tongue” sermons aside, the first part of that verse has always fascinated me. Apparently, we humans are able to tame any creature on earth if we put our minds to it (which gives hope to animal lovers everywhere).

Yet obviously some creatures are more easily tamed than others. Taking your cue from those three categories in Genesis 1, I’m fairly certain you would have an easier time taming a kitten that becomes a cat than you would have taming a cub that becomes a mountain lion. Even after a short time working with wildlife, it has become clear to me that most creatures in the wild category have absolutely no interest in being tamed. When I open their cage door at release time, they’re gone in a flash of fur or feathers. They might come back now and then to see if I’ve left any food lying around that they can steal, but they don’t come back to stay.

My domestic pets and livestock, on the other hand, act much differently. The canine, feline, and poultry residents around our place have always been happy to eat and stay, and eat some more, and stay some more… and eat and stay again. Not so, the wild things. They eat and run, literally.

This was quite a revelation to me. Until I started doing wildlife rehab, I had never given much thought to how God created the animals in a way that places wildlife in a class of its own. The wild ones just were not originally designed to become close to humans or make good pets. Besides the fact that it’s illegal in many places to make pets of them (and should be, for many reasons), did you ever wonder why people don’t try to tame them more often? It just isn’t a workable plan; that’s why! They were specifically designed to be what they are—wild animals. For me, that’s part of what makes wildlife rehabbing such a delight. I see it as a rare chance to be around—and even to get my hands on—a whole category of creatures that are otherwise typically out of sight and out of reach.

The Lion and the Lamb

From the time I first noticed that God identifies three categories of animals, I have found it fascinating to think about how we humans relate to them in different ways. I have also found it fascinating that Jesus is identified with both the wild animal and livestock categories when Scripture calls Him either the Lion or the Lamb. Revelation 5:5 says of Him, “Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory.” And John 1:29 says, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

There is no comparison between a lion and a lamb, yet the Savior is called both. That makes sense when you think about it. God created both of these greatly divergent creatures, one a wild animal and one livestock. As different as they are, they can both teach us so much about Christ’s nature and character. Thinking about Him as both the Lion and the Lamb has provided me with some powerful insights into who He is and how He operates in my life.

I usually think about one facet or another of the Lion and Lamb comparison every day. Sometimes I think of Christ as Jesus, Savior, meek and mild—the Lamb. Other times, I think of Christ as Jesus, Savior, strong and wild—the Lion. Both these characterizations comfort me, although these days perhaps the Lion leaps to the forefront more often, probably due to my activities in the Lion’s Den. It is there I need His strength and power to help me keep alive the tiny sparks of life that come in. Next up is the story of one of the smallest of these sparks. In fact, that’s what I named this terribly unfortunate but terrifically determined little orphan—Spark—in honor of his will to live.

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