A different look at animals.

The first animal killed, according to Genesis, was a lamb. And it was killed by God.

I have to say I disagree with how a lot of conservatives view animal life. I'm not a tree hugger, or animal worshiper, or anything silly like that, but I am practical, and I tend to think outside the box.

It's easy to off handedly regard animals as sub-human, but it's far more difficult to ignore their impact on our lives. Oliver, my childhood dog, was just as much a part of my family growing up as anyone else. When he passed away I mourned him and there is still a vacant spot in my heart he used to fill. Some of you may have grown up on farms, or with pets, or have a certain animal which strikes your fancy, so hopefully you can appreciate the emotion that comes when a beloved pet dies.

Imagine yourself in the Garden of Eden. Everything around you, everywhere you look, is paradise and wonderful. Every tree has fruit just ready for picking. The temperature is always perfect. Your partner (handcrafted by The Creator) never has bad breath or zits. All the animals come around to play and you can bury your face in a lion's mane and give him a huge hug. One little lamb loves to play in the dewey grass, and nuzzle against you and eats from your hand, and sleeps by your side. Eating one of these animals is a thought as foreign and unimaginable to you as trying to look at the inside of the back of your own head. It's just impossible.

One day, Eve is tempted, and Adam, who loves her, falls to the same temptation. They try to hide because they now understand what evil is, and they know they have done wrong.
God would have been justified in obliterating the first man and woman and starting over. But he didn't. Instead, He shed the blood of the little lamb and made clothes for the man and woman. In doing this, he gave them a constant reminder of their sin and it's consequences. Every day they had to wear the skin of the animal they had loved so dearly and who had done nothing wrong. He provided a picture of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

This thought humbles me every time I put on leather shoes, or eat a hamburger. It reminds me of my fallen nature and the sacrifice Christ made to pay the price for my sin. It also reminds me of one reason why man was put in the Garden: to care for it, to be responsible with it.