The first time a friend I’ll call Rose met our cat Misty, Misty seemed to fall under some sort of spell. She responded to her as she had to no other visitor to our home by climbing in her purse, onto her lap, and marking her legs. I accused Rose of dusting herself with catnip.
“I did not,” she said. “Cats just like me.”
I’ll say they do. Somehow Misty knows this woman is a cat lover down to Rose’s DNA. Every subsequent visit has been just like the first with Misty going Rose crazy. I’m sure this is reinforced when she takes care of the cat while we’re away. After one vacation we came home and found a strange purse lying in our den with Misty asleep on it. The cat magnet had left it. That purse was followed by many more. Misty hugs, chews on, and climbs in these purses until the captivating scent of Rose is gone.
All this made me think of a verse from 2 Corinthians 2:15. “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” I believe God wants us to be for those around us as winsome as Rose is to Misty. The fragrance of Christ in us should be so strong that others know without us even having to tell it. To borrow a line I heard at a recent ordination service, this takes “a profound commitment to serve God.”
Whether a cat lover or not, all of us can learn a thing or two from Rose and Misty.