On their way to join the allied troops in World War II, an army of recently liberated Polish POWs and refugees discovered an orphaned bear cub at a railroad station in the Hamadan Province of Iran.

They took him in and nursed him with condensed milk in an empty vodka bottle. They let him chase down and eat the oranges used in grenade practice. They smoked and wrestled with him. In return he carried their heavy artillery crates.

Eventually, the helpful bear was given a rank and number. The regiment even recreated their insignia to depict an artillery shell in the arms of their six foot, 440 pound friend.

Wojtek, the bear, ended up on a farm in Scotland, and then in the Edinburgh Zoo after the war. He spent his remaining days kicking around soccer balls, attending children’s parties, concerts and dances. The locals there bragged that he was “almost human.”

Wojtek was receptive to love. He let himself be cared for. As he learned to trust, he grew more and more part of the community. He became more like his caretakers.

Jesus takes the wild out of people’s wandering hearts. Like Wojtek, when we are receptive to Him, we become His child; we become like Him.