Genesis 1:24 Reflecting on Monday (Part Two)

So, we spent the day at the Houston Zoo. I told you all that yesterday, right?

Here is the moment that stood out.

We were making our way through the relatively new Africa Forest when we came upon the strangest and sweetest thing. In the chimpanzee exhibit there are walls of glass that allow zoo guests the opportunity to observe the chimpanzees nose-to-nose, all while in a gorgeous educational facility that is air-conditioned (a plus in Houston).

At the window, was a group of twenty-somethings. I could be overestimating their age. They were terribly immature and crass. However, one of these fellows had captured the attention of a chimpanzee. From the Chimpanzee Family Tree page of the zoo website, I believe that this particular dearie was Sally.

She stood at the glass, pointed at her head and then pointed to the glass. The young man copied her every move. He was wearing a pair of ripped up jeans and had evidently tripped somewhere and scraped his knee quite severely. His knee was a bloody mess. She kept looking intently at that knee. He didn't pick up on it.

Our family stood there, watching the sweet compassionate chimpanzee check on the obnoxious moron with the bloody knee.

I piped up, "She's worried about your knee."

All of a sudden, it clicked for him. "Ohhh...she sure is!" He quickly propped up his foot on the wall so that she could see the wound better. She moved closer and kept looking at his knee. Then, she squatted down in front of him and pointed at her head again. (I'm pretty sure she wanted to know what on earth he was thinking!)

The doofus got bored before the chimpanzee and he moved on. Her gaze followed him across the window. When he moved out of sight, she got up and went to the next window and watched him leave.

Such compassion.

I hit Biblegateway.com and searched "compassion" in NIV.

Here is the verse that stood out.

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:19

How many times has God been standing before me, waiting to show compassion, asking "What were you thinking?" How many times have I stood before Him, acted like an immature moron, and walked away?