CreatureKind Lenten Devotion: What Does Faith in Jesus Mean for Animals?

Mark and Florence, Farm Sanctuary, NY. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

CSA’s Sarah Withrow King is running a series of devotionals during Lent, reflecting on what we believe about God’s creatures and how we might move toward living out those beliefs as members of the body of Christ.

What is the place of animals in our Christian faith, and what does that mean for us? Join us on Mondays for a video, a song, and/or a short reading, along with questions for reflection and discussion.

Want more? Join Sarah and other CreatureKind friends for a Facebook Event every Monday at 11AM Eastern Time!

What Does Faith in Jesus Mean for Animals?

Safety. Kindness. Friendship. How does this photo from Jo-Anne McArthur make you feel? Do you share your life with animals? How has that shaped your view of animals as fellow creatures of God?

Read Mark 10:35-45.

What do we learn from this passage about how Christians are to exercise leadership? Do you think this has implications for Christian treatment of animals? If so, what are they?

In what ways have you served animals? In what ways have you been a tyrant?

Pray: Merciful God, teach me how to live in your service. Grant that by preferring your love to everything else, I may walk in the way of your command to love one another, as you have loved me. Amen.

Sarah Withrow King is the Deputy Director of Christians for Social Action, the co-director of CreatureKind, and the author of two books, Animals Are Not Ours (No Really, They’re Not): An Evangelical Animal Liberation Theology(Wipf & Stock) and Vegangelical: How Caring for Animals Can Shape Your Faith (Zondervan).

You may also want to read

Why I’m a Holy Saturday Christian

By Andre Henry

You can listen to an audio version of this piece here.

I imagine the weekend of Jesus’ execution might have felt something like the fall of 2020: the feeling of watching a revolution die.