When my children were small we had a menagerie of critters….horses, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, birds, cats, dogs, lizards and turtles. Have I left one out? We even fed a family of skunks who came to our backdoor for a handout. They never sprayed or even acted aggressively unless our dog escaped and chased them. I learned the use of tomato juice for the special purpose of neutralizing skunk odors!
Each one of these animals had a distinctive personality. Amazing to me. Each was slightly different in appearance also. Even each fish had a spot here or there that differed from the other ones. The fish always knew when it was feeding time. They must have seen us coming because they swam to the top of their tank with mouths open ready for the bounty that was quickly consumed.
One of the most interesting of all our creatures were the chameleons. Not only changing color at various times during the day, but each one of the three liked a different food. One preferred meal worms; another liked bananas fed by a toothpick; the other one really loved fresh flies. Yum!
Why should animals capture our imagination? Because they are truly alive and unlike the plant kingdom which have no self-awareness, animals each display a type of personality. I’m sure all you pet lovers out there can agree with me. Although qualitatively distinct from humans, who are made in God’s image, I do believe that animals too have a type of soul…..or nephesh in Hebrew. How do I know this?
Although different from the souls of humans, the animal’s soul is revealed by how he or she intelligently thinks, communicates, learns, and makes decisions….including problem-solving.
Of course some of this is learned behavior…..just like Pavlov’s dog. However, other types of behavior are inborn and are given by the great Creator himself. Many books have been written on the survival skills of birds, family pets, wildlife and laboratory animals. It has been shown that animals come up with clever solutions to the challenges of daily living in order to secure food, water, air, shelter, rest and reproductive success.
Crows have been shown using tools such as a stick to break open a shell. Dolphins, parrots, elephants, birds are all resourceful animals. Even a tiny fish called goby fish demonstrate amazing problem solving abilities. (Acts and Facts Creation magazine, 2016).
But the resourcefulness of animals should not surprise us.
Proverbs, 30:24-28, informs us that God wisely instilled wisdom into animals.. …even small creatures like ants, conies, locusts, and lizards.
Literally these created creatures are “wise from receiving (God’s) wisdom”
So animal lovers rejoice!! That family pet really does love you and he was created just for you to enjoy!
AbideLines 