Jesus wasn’t known for being mealy-mouthed. He wasn’t here to tap dance around the important issues—He was here to change the world. He didn’t gently suggest to the money-changers in the temple that perhaps they should start looking for an alternate location. He flipped over their tables, fashioned a whip, and drove them the heck out of there.
Jesus was bold. He was passionate. He defended the weak and the oppressed, and He fought for good. As Christians, we are called to do the same.
In that spirit, PETA LAMBS is releasing a free printable Easter card with a bold and passionate message aimed at defending some of the most vulnerable among us: animals. Inside the card is an excerpt from a poem by British author, playwright, and animal advocate Heidi Stephenson titled “The Great Renewal.”
Her words raise some questions:
How can we celebrate the triumph of life over death while paying for more death?
Why do we go to church in the morning and sing of the Lamb of God who was slain for our sins, only to be complicit in the sin of murder in the afternoon?
Are we no better than the temple money-changers, so immersed in our own greedy desires that we fail to see that what we’re doing is wrong?
Jesus is surely appalled and saddened by the way humans abuse God’s animals on farms and in slaughterhouses. Intelligent beings—just as sensitive as our beloved dogs and cats—are castrated and branded, they’re forcefully impregnated on “rape racks,” parts of their beaks are chopped off or sensitive horn tissue is carved out of their heads, metal pipes are rammed down their throats, and they’re denied the opportunity to express every God-given instinct that matters to them. They’re beaten, kicked, sexually assaulted, thrown like balls, and shot with electric prods to force them onto trucks bound for slaughterhouses, where their throats are slit.
© iStock.com/KariHoglund
Proverbs 12:10 tells us this:
“Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”
In other words, God does not look favorably on cruelty to animals. Those who are righteous care for and protect animals. But for the wicked who abuse them, one act of mercy will matter little to God. There is nothing righteous in the cruelty of the meat industry. As followers of Christ, we must reject it—on Easter and all year long.
If you’ve been trying to find a way to initiate a conversation about going vegan with your Christian loved ones and you’re ready to be bold like Christ, download our free Easter cards today. You can read more of Heidi Stephenson’s Christian animal-rights poetry here.
