Calvinism- A definition compliments of the cat!!!

A rancher in Wyoming was awakened to the sound of his seven year-old daughter crying uncontrollably. A yearling Hereford named Bessie that he bought for her for her 4-H project, that was penned up by herself, somehow escaped its confines and went off into the surrounding forest. Unnerved, the rancher quickly ran through the shower, put on his thermal tops and bottoms. He threw on his carpenter pants, a thick flannel shirt and slapped some mousse through his hair. Retrieving his Mossberg 590 which he kept over the open hearth, he then put on his Carhartt jacket and his NRA hat and off he went looking for the lost on horseback.

It snowed about 4 inches the night before and the temp was just over freezing. There was a trace of precipitation in the air. He had a hunch the yearling likely took a deer trail that winded through a deep ravine and went on for several miles after that. Yet, more snow was forecasted after that and the barometer on his Casio Pathfinder further confirmed that time was indeed of the essence- if she was to be found alive.

The search went on for what seemed half the day. Finally, about 30 yards from a growth of trees was Bessie, laying dead in the snow. Dismayed, he dismounted to make sure the remains were indeed those of the calf. The tag on the ear of the lifeless calf removed all doubt that he now had the unenviable duty of relaying to his daughter that Bessie won't be back.

.......But how did it happen?? The killer left several tell tale clues:


Death came almost instantly for the animal; by way of a precise bite to the neck and the carcass was covered over with snow and brush to prevent the meat from freezing and reduce the likelihood of scavenging by other predators. The yearling had been eviscerated- its rib cage was visible and the vital organs had been eaten away. The killer sprang from amidst the tree growth as the tracks indicate. It's not possible to tell how long Bessie was being stalked,but the tracks looked like these

Two indentations amid three lobes at the rear of the heel pad and four olive shaped toes with no claw marks; which indicate the claws are retractable.

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot to cut through this one! No presumption whatsoever is necessary......

Bessie was tracked and killed by a catamount. It had probably been sizing her up for days and waited patiently for her to be loose and within his range 

Understandably, several questions flooded the mind of the rancher. Is this the same cat that hit my buddy's steers on his spread? Why didn't I make sure that lock was completely secured. How am I going to break this to my daughter; who as yet not come to understand the finality of death? What worked in this rancher's favor was that he was a devout Calvinist. As yet, the OPC has but one congregation in The Equality State...but I digress. Once questioning the "L" in the acrostic T.U.L.I.P., his epiphany took place by God's grace via what Luther called "resistless logic". The great gift of mitigation our faith provides takes the following forms:

*In the matters of life and death, as with creation and redemption, the absolute sovereignty of God is-just that-absolute. Consequently, we are at times faced with things in life that have no apparent connection to fairness. Yet Augustine pointed out nearly 1500 years ago that those who measure Divine justice by the standard of human justice act perversely. What the elect are charged to do is cling fervently to the belief that God's Sovereign Will is always best and, one way or another, inequities will be meted out in the Father's due time and course. As utterly bizarre as it may sound to the post-modern Arminian, we are to take comfort in our strive and grief for the spoliation of it tends to strengthen and deepen our faith!  While we're at it, the great feline predator in the story here has been both reviled and revered by men for centuries. At the end of the day, we all know precisely where the cat came by the strength, skill, lethality and inclination to stalk and hunt the way he does.


That's the moral. If anything in italics makes sense to any of my newer readers, praise God!! Praise Him for He has imputed the kind of clarity by which one can best grasp His Word and the true meaning of the Covenant with the elect!!! Most of us will never get to see a mountain lion in the wild. For you readers that ever do, believe me- he saw you first and had you sized up long before you saw him! Aside from that, we all know what it's like to experience loss or to feel "preyed" upon by something or other. Whether it's an addiction of some sort, financial problems, marital difficulties...whatever. Yet, often amid the tumult the meanings and value of our faith become a lot clearer. That's one of the sweeter fruits of election-the Father's discernment through Christ.