Silly Cat.......Silly Humans?

I love my cat Belle. I think she is beautiful and amazing. But she is silly. She can be such a scaredy cat. Belle loves to sit in my open window at the screen for hours at end. She cranes her neck to see birds in the tree outside the window. She paws at bugs that land on the screen. She will also sit by the screen door which goes to the back deck. By all appearances she would love to escape through the screen and enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors. But whenever I pick her up and move 4 feet out the screen door to sit in a chair on the deck with her on my lap she freaks out! She whimpers and whines pathetically, struggling to escape my grasp and run back in doors. Her observable behavior is deceptive. She looks like she would love the outdoors but it is not so. And it is disappointing! I would love to have a contented kitty cat on my lap as I sit enjoying the sunshine. But it seems that this will not likely happen for a long time if ever.

Are we like Belle? Would someone observing us come to conclusions that aren't actually so? Do we talk up who we aren't? Are we fascinated by lives we would never have the guts to lead? What about those professing a Christian life? I am reminded of a quote that goes something like, nominal Christians read mission stories but real Christians live mission stories. We live in a world that is all about entertainment but rarely about experiencing life. We watch others experience and expressing life. Think reality TV, think movies, think sports, think many books. But what are our own lives? Are we so entranced by what other people are doing that we don't do anything ourselves? Are we really living life?

Belle is missing out. She could feel the grass under her paws. She could look up at the big blue sky and watch the birds swooping above her head. She could be sniffing bugs and plants which her little nose has never experienced before. Her fear is holding her back in what she could see and what I could show her.

Is God disappointed with us? Is our fear holding back from what He is able to show us and do through us?

Belle has nothing to fear because I would be with her the entire time she would be outside. Likewise, we have nothing to fear as well. The Creator and Sustainer of the Universe is at our side. What are we afraid of?

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6