He's Not a Tame Lion

One of my favorite books/movies (and there are a lot of them!) is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from C.S. Lewis' famous series, The Chronicles of Narnia. So, when it came on TV Sunday, the kids and I watched it. After all, it was our Sabbath Rest Day and it is an allegory for the Christian world view, so it fits, right? LOL

 (WARNING! Somewhat of a spoiler alert here, don't read on if you don't want clues to the end! I'm sure most everyone already knows but I felt I needed to warn just in case!)

Near the end of the film there is a dialog between Lucy and Mr Tumnus which I had completely forgotten about. Aslan (the Jesus figure portrayed as a Lion) is walking away, alone, after all the drama has subsided. It's clear He is leaving and Lucy is sad that it may be a long time before He returns. Her friend, Mr Tumnus, notices her disappointment and says "Don't worry, we'll see him again." When Lucy asks "When?", Mr Tumnus replies

 "In time. One day he'll be here, and the next he won't. But you must not press him. After all, he's not a tame lion."

If there is one thing I know C.S. Lewis does well, it's pointing out what we tend to overlook or forget about God's character. Reading in Numbers 14 this morning reminded me of how much I love this quote for it's simple truth. In Numbers 13 & 14, the people are once again complaining that God should have left them in Egypt where their lives were easier even though they were slaves. They sent scouts to the land God had promised to give them and all but two of them came back reporting of the fearsome giant people who inhabited it and how they would never conquer them as God said they would. At this point it appears that God has had enough and, as punishment for their grumbling, disbelief, & disobedience, He swears that none of those people will ever live to see the promised land.  

Ouch. In verses 27-35, God goes on to say "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the  Lord , I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun (These are the two scouts who trusted the Lord would deliver the promised land as He said He would). As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' I, the  Lord , have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die." (parenthesis added by me)

"After all, he's not a tame lion."

Ouch again. Through the amazing gift of Jesus, we are immediately forgiven of our offenses when we ask Him to be. However, because of that, I think we easily forget just how bad our consequences would be if not for His sacrifice on our behalf. We tend to look at God as this warm and fuzzy smiling Grandpa in the sky who wants to make us hot cocoa on a snowy day. The truth is, as much as He is perfect love and light, He is also righteous wrath and power. 

Mr Tumnus: "But you must not press him. After all, he's not a tame lion."

Lucy: "No, but he is good."

God gets angry. God doles out punishments for disobedience. God can not be kept on a leash. He's not a genie in a bottle, waiting to grant our wishes. However, God is love and His love for us knows no bounds. God knew that on our own we'd never be able to be enter into His Kingdom, so He sent Jesus to take our punishment for us so that we would have a chance at eternity with Him. (I say chance because you have to accept that invitation for yourself. He doesn't make us accept it or automatically grant it upon a person's birth.) Jesus is the buffer between our mistakes and God's complete Holiness. Now, all who accept Jesus' sacrifice for them, the children of God, are on a level playing field.  Thanks to Jesus, God can look at us with a smile on His face because God is looking at us through the perfect lens of Jesus. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Do you enjoy the works of C.S. Lewis? Which of his writings has inspired you most? I'd love to hear about them!

It Comes Down Through the Father.

Miriam and Aaron represented the priests and the prophets which were the two most powerful groups next to Moses. They had grown jealous of Moses and, since they could not find fault with him, they choose to start gossiping about his wife and undermining Moses true value to the people. (Yes, even in biblical times people were catty.) God's method of disciplining them for their backbiting made me smile a little in spite of the seriousness of it.

Perhaps that's where I get my temper from. ;O) 

Wow. Chalk this up to another one of the myriad of reasons why I'm thankful to Jesus for redeeming me! I can just imagine this situation being a lot like me calling over two of my kids for being mean to one of the others, except for the fact that I'm not God (clearly). That puts a whole new flavor into this dish.

God calls Miriam and Aaron aside and chastises them for gossiping about Moses and his wife. Man, does He give them a talking to! Not only is He angry that they would talk badly about Moses in the first place, but also that they had the audacity not to be afraid to do so. As if God wouldn't step up and go to bat for His beloved. People, please.

One thing that puzzles me a little is why didn't Aaron become leprous as well? Why only Miriam? Maybe Aaron was affected more by seeing his sister fall ill than he would have been by falling ill himself? Who knows what he had to face going back into the camp with his tail between his legs while Miriam was left outside for a week. The questions, the stares, the whispers, the blame...I bet they were a heavy weight to carry for some time. Perhaps the Lord knew they needed to be separated from each other in order to truly repent of their sins rather than fall right back into them? If both had been afflicted and sent outside the camp for 7 days, they would have a whole week to commiserate and get themselves even deeper into trouble. I know that would be something my kids would be likely to do.

Truth is, only God knows; I certainly don't. I've often said that if I could understand the reasons behind everything that God does, then He wouldn't really be much of a God, would He? He'd be more like a really good Pastor. Human. Limited by what I'm limited by intellectually. We're not on the same plane and the understanding of that is where true faith begins. We CAN'T understand His ways/reason/methods. We're not capable. What we CAN do is trust that He knows what He's doing and has our best interest at heart. I trust God knew what He was doing then, and that He's knows what He is doing now. Do you?

The Roundabout Way to Get a Dog.

"At the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out. They obeyed the Lord's order, in accordance with his command through Moses." Numbers 9:23

A little while back, my husband and I were contemplating some serious changes for our family. We believed God was leading us to move into a new area in order to bring hope and light there. Things were moving right along and everything was falling into place. 

And then it stopped. 

The dog I swore I'd never get.

What I wouldn't give for a pillar of fire at this time! What happened? Did we do something wrong? Was this all just an exercise in obedience?  We're we wrong about where we thought the Lord was leading us? Perhaps it was just to get me to agree to get another dog. 

The truth is, I have no idea why we had to go through what we did. Maybe I'll know why in a month or a few years, but right now I'm left to wonder. However, as much as there is that I don't understand about this season, I feel there is one lesson that I've taken away already: Be happy to be where you are; you can be a light right here, right now. OK, well that is sort of two lessons, but whatever. :O)

I was rather content in our current location until the thoughts of moving into a much larger, newly remodeled historical home started being thrown around like candy at a parade. Each bite I took was sweeter than the last and before I knew it, I had tired of the home God had blessed us with not that long ago. Suddenly, this 3 bedroom bungalow was suffocating our 6 person family and we simply had to get out. Here's where we (my husband and I both) veered off course. In our minds, our goals had shifted. It was a very slow and gradual shift. So slow that we didn't really notice it until after all the hullabaloo died down. As much as we tried to keep our eyes set on the Lord's will, we were blinded, at least in part, by greed. The desire to "move on up" much sooner than we'd ever thought possible started overshadowing our desire to be the light of Jesus in a dark place. We still wanted to serve the Lord there and we sought Him through prayer and council the entire time (and still are), but we ended up feeling as though there was a point where we were more concerned about the house itself above all other things.

Now that this train has slowed to a stop, at least for the moment, and now that the excitement has died down, I can see clearly again. I love this house as much as I did the first day I saw it, despite the fact that most would say it's a bit too small for us now. Also, surprisingly enough for those that know me, I love that mutt pictured above. (Former die-hard cat person right here.) Do I think this means that God won't ask us to try to trust him with a big move again in the future? Only God knows! I'm trying not to focus on that. What I am trying to focus on is what He wants us to be doing in the time He has allotted for us here. Clearly we're not done. 

Not everything God calls us to do is going to be as exciting as a big change in location or as "glamorous" as being "that family" who did "that crazy thing for God". It's been my experience that more often than not, God calls us to work behind the scenes, in the dirt, in our own backyard, when no one else is paying any attention. There is so much suffering and need right here, right underneath our noses. We can shine just as brightly here as we can anywhere because our light is The Lord, and He is everywhere.

How are you a light in your community and/or surrounding areas? Where has God lead you to lead others? I'd love to hear about it! Comment below and let me know!

The Priestly Blessing Breakdown

I was reading this morning and the study Bible (NIV) I use broke down the Priestly Blessing (Num. 6:24-26) and made me think about it as I never had before. I thought I would share it so here it is!

"Five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) bless and keep them (favor and protect); (2) make his face shine upon them (be pleased); (3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate); (4) turn his face toward them (give his approval); (5) give peace."

I can't even attempt to remember how many times I have heard this blessing. I grew up going (sporadically) to several Lutheran churches and watching Robert Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral on TV so, if you are familiar with either of those 2 things, you know what I'm talking about! 

Seeing this familiar blessing broken down in this simple manner has shined new light on it for me and, therefore, a deeper meaning. I hope this does the same for anyone else who reads it!