“One day Mrs. Goodkind said,
‘Pickles, you are not a bad cat.
You are not a good cat.
You are good and bad.
And bad and good.
You are a mixed-up cat.
What you need is a good home.
Then you will be good.’ ”
~Esther Averill, The Fire Cat
One of the children’s books that stands out from my early childhood is The Fire Cat. It tells the tale of a homeless stray cat named Pickles who finds a home and purpose in life due to a Mrs. Goodkind. My mom read it to me so often I knew the story inside and out. “Read it again!” I would plead, hoping both for the comfort of a familiar story, and the delay of the “interruption of living” grown ups called sleep. For a period, I couldn’t get enough of Pickles. I know I am not alone in my childhood love of repetition; children all over the world cherish the security found in things well and frequently told. One evening, whilst my oldest brother was babysitting, he agreed to my pleas for Pickles; however, he added bits and pieces that didn’t belong. I bellowed: “read it right!” In my little mind and heart the book was just right as written, so no room was granted for creative licence!
At the time I didn’t relate a longing for home and purpose in life to anything existential or grand; to my five year old self it was just my favourite story. Obviously, after coming to faith in Christ and growing in the knowledge and application of my faith, I better understand the allure of origin (or home), meaning, purpose, and destiny in life. Most of life’s deepest questions, not to mention our best art and literature, connect with us on at least one of these points. From Genesis we know God created humans to flourish under his sovereign authority, to fellowship with him, and be in fruitful relationship with his creation. In short, we had a home, were endued with meaning, and given purpose. That all went pear-shaped – hey, the bible actually doesn’t say apple 🙂 – as man rebelled, bringing curse and fracture upon himself and the world he lived within. It is no wonder the sorts of stories that we find enduringly appealing; we either find complete satisfaction in our Creator, or we fashion substitute idols for a man-fashioned home / meaning / purpose / destiny.
Like my 5-yr old self, the bible pleads with us to read it right and not add to it or take from it. And when the Lord opens our eyes and ears to his Word why would we? In his Word we find such “great and precious promises”! Think upon the remarkable truths we read of as we finish John’s Revelation. Last week we heard of the home prepared for the people of God:
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Rev. 21:2-3)
Our text from this week describes the people of God with the last of seven beatitudes found in the book: “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” (Rev 22:14) These two texts assure us that though rightfully cast out of the garden because of our sin, God places us by his mercy and grace within his new Eden, his city – the place of his dwelling!
Remarkably, God’s wondrous Word ends with a simple yet powerful one-word sentence: “Amen”, which means ‘so be it’. Where do you look to find your true home, real meaning, fulfilling purpose, and assured destiny? Are you, by faith in Christ alone, God’s child? If yes, then ‘read it right’ and allow God’s amen to assure you that he is indeed the “author and finisher” of your faith and trustworthy to bring you ‘home’!
Much love,
Pastor Gary