Mustang Burkhalter

My cat Mustang was put to sleep two weeks ago today. He wasn't our family's first cat, but he was the first that was "mine". At 14 years old, he lived a nice long kitty life. Most days were spent lounging around, eating, and in the later years, playing with his sister-cat Lucy (aka Queen Kong, named for her black fur and 20 pound frame). Not exactly a life full of purpose and meaning, but sufficient for a cat I suppose.

Mustang was not an especially affectionate cat. He didn't do any tricks. He ran away from me a lot. But I loved him, simply because he was mine. I didn't realize these feelings until these past two weeks. It has given me an insight--albeit on a MUCH smaller scale--of how God feels towards the Sons of Abraham. Though we aren't especially affectionate towards God (except on occasion), though we don't do as many deeds as we should, though we run away from Him constantly, He loves us simply because we are His. Because we were bought with a price.*

I have also been thinking about the finite nature of animals. Some say it is hard to grip the concept of a human's semi-infinite soul (having a beginning but no end). However, I'm having a harder time dealing with an animals finite soul. Or do they even have souls? They certainly have personality and breath in their lungs. How can a soul just cease to exist? The Bible offers little insight here.

And finally, I thought a lot about the fact that we, in essence, were killing him. At first, it didn't sit well with me. Shouldn't we be trusting God with life and death? How is this different than pulling the plug on a vegetable or abortion? God has not given us the authority to do such things. Then I remembered that God said to Adam, "Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Although we do not have the authority to take the life of another human, we do have authority over animals. So, we decided it was best to relieve Mustang of his pain (he had a large tumor in his spleen which was giving him jaundice).

I will miss seeing him when I come home. I'll miss him jumping into bed with me in the middle of the night. I'll miss him playfully biting my hand.

I'll still love him though, simply because he was mine.

*1 Cor. 6:20