By Niki Behrikis Shanahan
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV
In February we always think about Valentine’s Day and love. Love is expressed in many ways, and I was thinking about the many ways that God shows His love for the animals. One that comes to mind is that He included them in Noah’s ark. There was quite a bit of detail involved in construction of this ark, and if it was made only for Noah and his family, it would have been significantly smaller, easier, and quicker to build. He was instructed Noah to take two of each type of animal with him.
Here are other examples we see in the Bible of God’s love for the animals in Psalm 104:10-14, NIV.
He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth.
Then Jesus said in Luke 12:24 “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.”
These are just a few of the many Scriptures we can find in the Bible concerning God’s love for the animals. As we can see, God loves and cares greatly for all His creatures. As stewards of the animals, God expects us to take good care of our own animal companions. Proverbs 12:10 says that a righteous person regards the life of his animal. So I think that we as stewards of our own family pets, work in concert with God to provide care and show love for our beloved animal companions. This, of course, comes very easy for us because we love them so much. And the love and friendship that they give to us makes it so very much worthwhile.
I hope that you and your family pets have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. For those of us who have a beloved animal companion in Heaven, we feel our love for them even greater than ever as each day goes by, and we look forward to our reunion in Heaven with them someday. In Heaven every day will be far superior to any Valentine’s Day here on earth that we have ever celebrated.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV
Copyright 2026 Niki Behrikis Shanahan