Over the past week, I have been hunting for Coyotes twice. On the first hunt I got to spend some quality solitary time with the God of the universe (hunting seems to be the only time I can just get away from everything).
This was my very first time to hunt those ‘yotes and I must say that it is quite different than hunting most things, and difficult too: especially at the Lexington WMA in Oklahoma where they are educated toward hunter tactics. So, I arrived at Lexington (just outside of Slaughterville, Oklahoma) and drove to the shooting range there that is available for free so that I could sight my new AR-15 (this gun is awesome). After sighting my gun, I drove to a place that looked promising. I followed the path there to a large creek and walked along the ledge above the creek until I found a spot where there was an abundance of small game (squirrels mostly) and a good source of water. I settled in and began moving just my eyes back and forth looking for movement in the brush.
I waited about five minutes before I started calling and heard some noise in the brush just outside the range of my peripheral vision. I could either move my head, and scare whatever it was off, or I could hope it to come into my line of sight. So, I moved my head as slowly as I could in the way of the shuffling brush. Sure enough, there was a coyote looking right at me. It was close enough that I could see the detail in its eyes, but as soon as I caught a glimpse of it, it was gone: before I could point my gun in that direction. I tried a few more stands, with no luck, and then called it a day.
It was on the way home that I heard about the shooting in Nowtown, Connecticut. God has given us, the human race, the amazing ability to create tools that help with things like: wildlife conservation, feeding our families and even gaining materials for other projects. Yet, there are human individuals that would choose to use those tools for such evil. They have compromised the abilities that God has designed us with. Even though, while I was hunting, God taught me that in life, people always need to be ready (1 Peter 3:15), He reemphasized the fact that humanity can be both so vile and so honorable, as was seen in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday. My soul still grieves for every individual, and the community, affected.
Yesterday (Monday) I took my brother out and we tried some new spots, still at the Lexington WMA. At the first stand, I heard some footsteps (belonging to a four legged animal of some kind) in the brush behind me, an area which my brother was supposedly covering. After some duck hunters (whom we could not see) popped off a few rounds and made a big ruckus on top of that, I decided that our current stand was badly placed anyway. I asked my brother if he heard those footsteps. He said yes, but he didn’t see anything. We tried a few more stands, hearing ‘yotes yelping in the distance but never seeing any close movement; only hearing the occasional twig snapping nearby (which could have been anything.
As we were moving to another stand location, my brother pointed out some deer tracks that had recently been made in the soft mud. That would have been awesome if I had a bow (gun season for deer is over). We continued moving to the next stand and I stop hearing my brother’s footsteps behind me. He had stopped to examine some deer pebbles that were still black and not crusty. There was for sure a deer in the area. Too bad we were after ‘yotes. All in all, we had a great time mixed with some theological discussion.
During the silence of the hunt, my mind wandered to thoughts about the New Jerusalem. What will it be like? It is difficult to say for sure (in fact we cannot say for sure until we are there) but I was amazed at all of the implications that God must have considered while planning humanities existence in perfection. Will there be an economy? What all will we be able to do in glory to God? Will we actually own anything (as insinuated by our receiving of rewards in heaven), or will all things be communally owned? If we do own anything, it will definitely be held in common with others. What will our service to God look like on the new earth (since mankind served God in the garden, and serves God on this current earth)? Will the Bible still exist as it is (since there will be no suffering or sadness and there are plenty of both in the Bible)? Will there be some sort of museum outlining all that God has done in every nation on this earth? There is so much to think about with no answer this side of heaven. I think it is good to think about, though, as long as we don’t lose sight of following God in this life. It creates an awe on our part and helps us to realize that, even on this earth and in this body, we we do should always serve God’s glory.
Amen!
andrew paul cannon 
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