Will my dog go to heaven?

And no, I am not implying that cats will definitely go to heaven whereas dogs might not :P

A friend posed a question to me about whether dogs would go to heaven or not. She loves her dog dearly, and finds the possibility that her dog would not go to heaven with her quite devastating. Many of us have dearly beloved furry (or not-so-furry) friends, and you often hear the naïve-sounding wish that they would be there in heaven waiting for us at the end of the day. And yet, nowhere in the Bible says that they would get to go to heaven! In fact, there is a thought among some that they won't.

This question has been sitting at the back of my mind for ages. But then, I heard a sermon from Mark Driscoll on Habakkuk 2, and the question was brought back to me. In a part of this sermon, Mark was talking on Habakkuk 2:17 where it says "The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them." (The "violence done to Lebanon" is a reference to the deforestation that occurred in Lebanon because the cedars of Lebanon were prized greatly.) Mark's point in this section was that God cared very much about the rest of His creation too, not just the humans, and He will call humans to account for their treatment of the world that He had given them the responsibility to tend.

Of course, Habakkuk is not the only book of the Bible where God's concern for the rest of creation is shown. In Luke 6, it says, "Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight." Granted this passage is aimed at showing us how precious we are in God's sight; even so, the basis for this stems from the fact that even the sparrows are worthy of attention in His sight. In the book of Job from chapters 38 to 41, God declares His greatness to Job by showing how he provides for everything, even the animals.

So what can we gain from this? How will this help us address the question of whether our furry friends will come to heaven with us or not?

God is Sovereign, out-of-this-world, and His ways are beyond our full comprehension. It would be natural that we would not understand or know how things will pan out; He does not have to include us in His decision making.

However, remember this: God cares. He loves in a way that is beyond our imagination. His attention to detail is exquisite.  If we think we love our cats and dogs, He loves them in a way that is infinitely more perfect than we do. Not only that, He is the Creator, the Designer, of these creatures, and He knows what is best for them (and us).

While I do not know exactly how God will take care of our furry friends, one thing I do know is that God will take care of our furry friends. I do not know what He has in mind for them (whether it be heaven or oblivion), but I do know that He is a much more caring person than I am, and that He loves perfectly whereas I am merely human. I know that my cat and my dog is more precious in His sight than they are in my sight.

And I also know that I am much more precious in His sight than any other animal :)

So while I have no clue about whether dogs will go to heaven or not, I have faith in God's character, and I know He will do what is best for all. :)