In our previous meditations we have looked at what the Scriptures have to say about having and caring for pets. We have also considered the grief that comes with losing a beloved pet. And we have addressed the question about pets and the afterlife. Although an animal possesses consciousness, its consciousness is strictly tied to its physical being and never acts independently of it. Therefore, when the body of an animal dies, its consciousness dies with it. So animals do not continue to exist after death as humans do. An animal has a soul, but it does not have an immortal soul. Its soul perishes with its body. This being the case, are pets then something we can only enjoy in this life? Are there no pets in the next life? These questions bring us to today's meditation in which we shall deal with regaining pets.
Recall from our first meditation that before the fall there was no hostility between men and animals. It is an effect of the fall that animals have a fear and dread of man that will cause them to either run away from man or fight back.
Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Because of this fear and dread, animals need to be tamed if we are to make pets of them.
Now the Scriptures plainly teach that there will be animals in the world to come. In Hebrews 2 Paul writes of the world to come and that it will be in subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
In this passage the apostle is quoting the eighth Psalm and clearly applying it to the Lord Jesus Christ. In the world to come, which we see not yet, all things will be put into subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is crowned with glory and honour. Now the thing that is relevant to our meditation today is that animals are included in "all things" that will be in subjection to Christ in the world to come. This can be seen by looking at Psalm 8, which Paul was quoting.
Psalm 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
In that world to come, also called a "new heavens and a new earth," there will be animals. All the animals there will be tame being in absolute subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ. No carnivores will be found among the animals. There will be no fear and dread of man, but there will be perfect harmony between all creatures. There will be beasts, but there will be no evil beasts. The following two passages speak clearly to this:
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 34:25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
Our Lord gave us a sampling of His dominion over the animals at His first coming. On one occasion He ordered the fishes of the sea to a specific place so that they could be caught by his disciples and this after the disciples had "toiled all the night" and had "taken nothing" (Luke 5:4-6). On another occasion our Lord rode a colt "whereon yet never man sat" and there is no hint that the colt resisted in any way (Luke 19:29-36).
Now think of some beloved pet you have lost. I am thinking of my daughter's little gray parakeet Sugarbaby. Who is to say that when you arrive at your long sought home on the new earth, you might not encounter an animal that will be every bit as beautiful and sweet as the one you lost but only more so? I can imagine a little gray parakeet flying up to me and lighting on my shoulder jubilating the praises of its Maker. This little bird will be everything good that our little bird was and more. I'll rub my glorified nose on his cuddly, feathery breast as I enjoy this creation of God. The joy that this little bird will bring will be perfect, better than any joy our little pet brought us here. In a curious way that I cannot fully explain, I suspect that it will seem like I have reconnected to something I loved and lost awile. And there will never be the fear of losing him. But neither will we have the emotional weaknesses that we sometimes look to companions and pets to satisfy. For we shall be emotionally whole and eternally satisfied in a secure and abiding fellowship with God. We will be able to enjoy our pets as gifts of God without making little gods of them as some might do in this fallen world. We together with all creatures will live holily, happily, harmoniously, and peacefully basking in the light of God's radiant face forever and ever and ever. I can't wait! "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
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