21^st November

“….. “Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals…and they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing.””

Revelation 5:5b,12

If you were to think of two clear opposites in the animal Kingdom, you would probably say the lion and the lamb. The lion is the King of the Jungle. He rules with prowess, courage and power. He is the epitome of strength. He roars and others follow. Yet the lamb, is a gentle, meek and mild animal. An animal that follows the orders of the shepherd’s call and the dog’s order. Yet isn’t it incredible that our Lord Jesus Christ, is called both the Lion and the Lamb throughout the Bible?

In truth, many of us seem to see Jesus as either one or the other. If we see Jesus as the Lion figure, we see power and strength, righteous judgement and we revere and serve Him as our Holy God. If we see Jesus as the Lamb, then our image of Jesus is as the humble Lamb that was slain for the sins of the world. We lean more on His grace and forgiveness, knowing that He paid for our sins sacrificially with His life.

An unhealthy balance of either of the two images tends to cause a mis-conception of how we see God and how we think He sees us. Leaning too much towards the Lion image, we tend to strive only for holiness. We beat ourselves up when we fall down, and are constantly trying to ‘be’ better, more holy and right before God, trying to gain His favour. On the other hand, those who lean too much towards the Lamb image, tend to say ‘everything is permissible’. It’s ok, God’s grace will cover my sins. I don’t need to keep my life in account. God loves me and that is that. Both are equally damaging for our walk with God. In order to live our lives as God wants us to, we need to have a healthy balance of the two. Both revere God as Holy, Mighty and Great, serve Him as King but also trust Him like a friend, and accept His forgiveness and grace in all we do. We must live holy lives, but knowing that when we fall, God’s grace and mercy will life us back up. The Lion is on our side and our best supporter and the Lamb is our Mediator, giving us the grace to stand firm.