Homing Instinct

Holly, the Florida cat, is in the news today. Holly's owners took their cat on holiday, 200 miles north, and the cat was lost while they were away. But then, after a few weeks, their cat turned up again, apparently having made the journey home. This journey is raising questions.

Do cats have a homing instinct? Was Holly helped by its 'Cat Nav'? Or did a passing motorist give Holly a lift? 

We may never know, but it reminded me of a major theme in the Bible.

All people, regardless of background and education, faith or culture, are wired up with a divinely designed spiritual homing instinct. 

Luke tells the stories of several of these people in the Acts of the Apostles. 

The Jews had had centuries of preparation, prophecies and preaching to help them to seek the fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham. But Luke tells us stories of people without a Jewish background who also seek after God. 

When St. Paul visited Athens, the centre of Greek philosophy and learning, he focuses on this God-given homing instinct, that all people possess. 

So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. . . . .  “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17.22-28 edited)

It is wonderful to read how Paul was able to link the unique and final revelation brought to us by Jesus with Greek poetry and philosophy. In this, he gives us a model for our own speaking to people we meet.

So everyone we meet today also has a divinely designed spiritual homing instinct, of which they may or may not be aware. That means that we may know those in whom God is at work, as He seeks to activate their homing instinct.

This is a great encouragement to me, as we pray that we may know Jesus better, to that we can make Him better known.

Best wishes,

Richard