Lovey is our cool, orange tabby. He’s a cat’s cat. He’s soft and gentle with our family but will ferociously chase down a dog that’s going after one of his feline friends. He’s the king of our farm but allows strays to eat from his bowl. He was a rescue cat, so I like to think he remembers his roots and desires to give back to the community. He’s been diagnosed with feline leukemia, but you’d never know it. He weighs seventeen pounds and runs with a sassy kitten named Baby. He takes hikes deep into the woods with us, scrabbling around creeks and over rocks and logs to keep up. Lovey is independent from others yet condescends to be with us on his own terms at times throughout the day. When he does choose to be with us, he receives and gives love well during brief encounters. You sense that you’re privileged to have him with you, like those rare moments in life when you’ve had a brief interaction with a wild animal. You know he’s special, your interaction will be limited, and you want to take it in.

While it would seem Lovey is strong, he does have a weak immune system. One of his downfalls is that he is overly confident in his strength. He’ll avoid us on a night with thirty-below wind chills to stay outside to watch over his little, farm kingdom.

Last night was such a night. In addition to the freezing temperatures, gusts of wind and blowing snow made the outdoors dangerous for our animals. I had just finished putting in all the extra care needed for our horses, rabbits, and chickens to be warm and Lovey was following me as usual. Though he evaded my feeble attempts to pick him up in my heavy layers of clothes, I finally succeeded and he rested, shaking in my arms. I was pleased that I had won and would soon have him inside our warm and cozy farmhouse.

Once inside, he paced at the door and whined, but I didn’t give in. He has to at least pretend not to want to be here at night, to keep up his cool cat image. Finally, he gave up his desire to be free from our warmth and care. He leaned into the safety of our home. Our independent Lovey slept on the stairs that lead to our bedrooms for the rest of the night, warm and content and watching over his indoor kingdom.

I know, if you’re a cat person, you may be thinking that he’s no different than any other cat. This may be true, but he’s our Lovey!

You may be wondering why, other than to show off his wonderful personality, I am writing about Lovey.

Last night, we made the observation of what a great illustration Lovey is to us.

We can be like Lovey.

We have our moments of being humble, loving, and brave, but we are also, often, overly confident in our strength and still quite needy.

If we are Christians, we are still in as much need of our Savior as the day we were rescued by Him. We have our own little kingdoms that we like to think we are ruling over, but really, there’s one ruling over us and His kingdom. He’s looking out for us and has our best interest in mind. We want to respond to Him on our own terms and try to evade him when we think we know what is best for us. We often want what isn’t best for us and can be our own worst enemy. In fact, we may even cry out to Him for what isn’t best for us or others. When we remember the goodness of abiding with God, we fully enjoy the goodness of taking refuge in His presence and grace.

If you have union with Christ, He’s always waiting to walk with you, be with you, feed and nourish you, protect you, stand up for you, rule over you, and watch over you and His Kingdom with mercy, grace, faithfulness, and love. His greatness is way beyond comparison. He’s beyond the goodness of Lovey and of any owners caring for their animals in the cold weather. He’s worthy to be looked to. Interacting with Him is more amazing than those unique life moments of interacting with His wild creatures and creation, filled with awe and wonder. He can’t be tamed to our liking and He can’t be caught. He catches you and time with Him never, ever ends. Even when we think we’ve hidden ourselves from Him, we are still in His presence. Time with Him, if we are In Him, is eternal and not limited. Once you receive Him, he’s yours forever.

If you don’t know this God, allow yourself to be caught by Him who saves. Start by understanding this: that the Father sent His Son to become like us in human form, to live the perfect life we will never live, to die the death we deserve to die for our sins, and to be raised again to new life so that we can be raised as well. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. That joy was to rescue you from the domain of darkness and bring you into His kingdom.

If you’ve been caught by God, allow yourself to be held, nourished, and cared for. It’s always better to abide and to remain in His kingdom, His courts, and His house. When we dwell there, we remain in His shadow and if we are in His shadow, we remain safe.

What does that mean, though?

To abide in Christ, we must first be in union with Him by His grace. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If you are in union with Christ (the vine), then abiding is when the believer (the branch) remembers where it gets its sustenance. The branch remembers that it’s not alone and that it gets all that it needs for life and thriving from the vine. When the branch remembers this, the natural outcome is that it obeys and follows Christ based on His Word, submits to Christ’s work in his or her life, and submits his or her life to the love and grace of Christ.

So, my question this week for myself and for you is:

Am I abiding in Christ? Am I remembering what is true of me in Christ? Am I remember what is true of Christ?

How does that impact my following Him and remaining in His love and care? Am I remembering the goodness of His shelter, returning to Him if I find that I’ve temporarily strayed? Or, am I choosing to look, go, and stay elsewhere for nourishment, help, and love?

If you’re in Christ and feel weak, vulnerable, and fearful, have you been seeking sustenance, safety, joy, and help in other things that are less fulfilling and, perhaps even dangerous? Have you been following someone or something else? Run back to the safe shadow of the Almighty.

If you are in Christ, He waits for your return. Even while you are still a long way off, He runs toward you with compassion. You are loved.

If you aren’t in Christ, perhaps a question might be, “How would my life be different if I were abiding in the safe, loving, fulfilling shelter of Christ?”

One day with Him in His presence is better than a thousand elsewhere.

If you don’t understand what it means to be in Christ and to abide in Him, I’d be happy to talk with you about it. Message me at amy@cornerstonechristcenteredcoaching.com.

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