Golden Wolf (Canis anthus) ~ Identification


Recently in biology, the wolves got a new family member.  The Golden Wolf is not exactly a new discovery, it’s been observed by biologists many times.  But biologists had misidentified the creatures as a jackal, naming it the Golden Jackal.  It wasn’t until a genetic conservationist at the Smithsonian Institute began comparing the Golden Jackal to other jackals that the misidentification was found out.  He says that the “two lineages are not even closely related”.  Thus Canis aureus (Golden Jackal) has been renamed Canis anthus (Golden Wolf).

It is hard to identify things in this world, especially in the spiritual realm.  Jesus warns us to beware of wolves dressed as something else (Matthew 7v14).  Most people i have met in American college campuses identify as Christian, but when asked if they have ever read the Bible or what the main tenets of Christianity are, these students often cannot answer me.  B.B. Warfield writes, “If everything that is called Christianity in these days is Christianity, then there is no such thing as Christianity.  A name applied indiscriminately to everything, designates nothing.”  These words, penned in the 19th century, still ring true today.  This bids the question: how can we identify a wolf when we all look like sheep?  According to Jesus’ teachings, we “will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7v16&20)

What does this fruit look like?  Does it mean community service, or singing in the church choir, or treating other people nicely?  Jesus goes on to say, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day MANY will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me.” (Matthew7v21-23)

This weighs on my heart tremendously.  There are men and women in this world who genuinely believe they are following Jesus, but they've never met Him.  This isn't hard to imagine as it's happened to me several times!  For example, i grew very close to a famous apologist i studied under in Oxford.  i sometimes met him after class to discuss questions i had, or theological problems i was facing.  i even gave him a sculpture which one of his lectures had inspired me to create.  Some time after i left Oxford i was applying to continue graduate school at Victoria University and i asked this man if he would be a reference for me.  He didn’t remember who i was!  Even after meeting him, speaking with him, and reading virtually every book he ever wrote, at the end of the day we had never formulated a relationship.  i was just another name at the end of an email.  It is a dangerous thing to assume that knowing about someone is equivalent to knowing them.  Even the demons know about Jesus, and shudder (cf James 3). Knowing Him is truly different.

In the bible the fruits of the spirit are listed in Galatians 5.  These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Many of these are not easily identifiable in others, but they are all easily identifiable in our own lives.  And i'm glad it's this way!  It's more important for me to identify what kind of person i am before i go analyzing someone else. 

 A wolf is not a jackal, no matter how much it looks like one.  We can learn much from the taxonomic approach of that geneticist at the Smithsonian.  He was able to identify the Golden Wolf correctly because he knew the lineage of both jackals and wolves.  As followers of Christ, we must familiarize ourselves with the difference between Christianity and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, the difference between loving Christ and knowing His story, the difference between being nice and being fully alive.  For, ultimately, i will stand at the door and knock, my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for Jesus to answer.  Will a flash of recognition cross His face when He sees me standing there?  When i say “Lord, Lord”, will He step forward to embrace me?  Or will He say, “I never knew you” and close the door?  Will i be just another forgotten student emailing a teacher?

But Jesus is never too busy, and i would encourage anyone reading this, no matter where you are in your spiritual walk: make time to get to know Jesus.  Like my forgetful professor used to say, “You make time for the One you love.”



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