I went to the zoo this past week with my family. Nobody told me it was going to be the hottest day of the year. And nobody told me that they
decided to build the zoo on a hill. That was a really smart idea. Also, why is food at the zoo so expensive? Are these burgers made out of real
pandas?
Although I have a lot of complaints (which is kind of my thing – ask my wife Mina), it was worth it because my kids had such a good time. We
were there for 5 hours and neither wanted to leave. After a few temper tantrums, threats of abandoning them in the lion’s cage, and good old
fashioned physical dragging through the parking lot, we finally managed to corral our kids into the car, where they promptly passed out for the
entire ride home, only to wake up full of rage and energy as soon as we opened the garage door. Being a parent is fun.
But despite all the fun we had as a family, going to the zoo is always kind of depressing for me. Seeing these animals caged behind walls, subject
to the stares, jeers, and pounding on the glass (that would be my son’s favorite way to try to engage the animals) was really a sad sight to see.
Many of the animals we saw had their backs turned or were hidden strategically, almost as if they knew that people were trying to stare at them
and they didn’t want to engage them. Especially during meal times, which I guess makes sense – nobody likes someone staring at their face while
they’re chewing; it’s extremely uncomfortable.
And that’s why I don’t like going to the zoo. Regardless of whether or not the animals were born in captivity or the wild, they have an innate
sense that they do not belong in a cage. And it’s sad to see animals who should be roaming their own territories in total freedom locked up to
serve as entertainment for ogling sweaty strangers. It’s almost as if they know their lives are limited – when you make eye contact with them, you
can almost tell how oppressed they feel.
In reality, people are in the same position as these zoo animals. We live most of our lives caged within the confines of this world, living our lives
within the boundaries of what the world tells us we can or cannot do, how we should live, what’s expected of us, what’s appropriate, etc. And we
believe that we are resigned to certain fates, certain destinies, and we cannot change them. But as Christians, there is so much more for us. Jesus
came to give us “life and life abundantly,” to set us free from the world we live in to allow us to step out in absolute freedom, joy, and grace into
a new life that is so much greater than the one we had. But for many of us Christians, even after we have been saved, we still live our lives the
same way we did before we met Christ. We don’t realize that there is so much more for us, not only in the next world to come, but in this very
world today. And that is a tragedy.
If the zoo animals could, they would all escape and return to their lives in the wild the first chance they get. Jesus has come to give us such an
opportunity to be set free from our mundane, worldly lives and wildly pursue a greater life with him in reckless abandonment. Will we choose
what is greater? Or will we stay in our own cages?
From Pastor David’s Heart
August 2, 2015