Good News From the Zoo

Last week I joined my youngest son for his Cub Scout Pack's "Zoo Snooze" adventure.  "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"  Except - really - no lions.  We'll replace that category with wolves.  Wolves and tigers and bears (of the two-legged varieties) and Webelos trekked through the Alaska Zoo to view animals and make wolves' food.  Frozen dog food balls, anyone?

We dads and moms enjoyed their joy.  Truly, I had as much fun as my son did.

Something special occurs when we see "wild" animals.  Those mighty beasts grab our attention (and fingers, if we get too close).  I believe the animals captivate our minds because the same Creator who crafted you and me also formed them in all their splendor - stripes, spots, paws the size of my head, howls, growls, marble-colored eyes - beauty.

And 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)

"And God saw that it was good."  In later verses, we read about how God created men and women and they, too, He called good.  However, the story continues and the "good" men and women transition (transgress, perhaps?) to not-so-good; indeed, broken - even while still living, dead. 

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. 
Colossians 2:13a (NLT)

The Genesis 3 World in which you and I live is broken.  Yet this is one place where the lions, wolves, tigers, and the like come back into the story.  We see those creatures pacing, playing, eating, and rolling in scent; hear them growl, howl, and purr; and we are reminded that parts of this world are still good.  Even spiders and snakes display His glory.  (OK - maybe snakes are a stretch.  We Alaskans greatly enjoy the fact that the "slitherers" live south of here.) 

So we look into the face of a tiger and hear the howl of a wolf and know that at least some of His creatures still listen and obey Him and the nature with which He endowed them.

We, however, tend to bark out anger and claw in bitterness.  Even still, God sent us the Good One so that we can be good again.  Read the rest of Colossians 2:13 -

Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

Is it any wonder that we call that the Good News?

I'm so glad I slept in the zoo.  I saw that He is good.