Gruesome Reality

Last night our dwarf hamster, the one prophetically named Chomper, was caught chomping off sweet Bright Star's head.  You can imagine the emotion running through our children's hearts as they processed this disaster.  It was wrong.

Lately my mind has been processing different pictures of brotherhood portrayed in the Bible.
The first example early in Genesis was uglier than our hamsters.

Two brothers, raised by parents who literally walked with God:
Abel with a pure devotion to God, Cain not so much.
Cain allowed the difference to fester, brew, congeal,
Until all the inward angst manifested itself in innocent Abel's corpse.
The first murder, martyr, lifeless man.  Death promised now present.
What did Cain feel afterwards?  Learn?

Then a picture of hope:

Two young, ruddy, handsome men.
Both with much promise.
Both with sincere hearts.
Hearts each continued to keep right before God.
One was the king's son.
The other, only a seventh son of a shepherd.

So when the king wanted to kill that shepherd boy,
The king's son Jonathan
Scorned his right to become king,
Protected his friend, his covenanted brother,
Because he knew David was God's chosen.
He gave up the kingdom, his own life,
For God's plan to prevail.

Cousins John and Jesus,
both promised sons,
but John says,
He must become greater,
I must become less.
And dies for his righteousness.

So I pray for myself and I pray for all
the brothers and sister under my roof:
Let us too, become less,
Allowing Christ to reign in us.

For we are a kind of firstfruits of
All He created.
We, as Christ-followers, can display
The beginnings of the new earth,
When children can play by a cobra,
When a lion will take a nap cuddled with a lamb,
When dwarf hamsters can live together in safety.