Living Life by Design

It seems to me the older I get, the more evil I see in the world. Good has been a mighty rock blocking a relentless torrent of water (evil) from flooding in. The rock seemed indestructible and immovable. However, over the years the rock, little by little, has been eroded by the constant pressure of the water. The once mighty rock is now allowing evil to begin pouring in. Good people have become tired an apathetic. 

In the book of Revelation, we see Jesus is standing at the centre of the throne of heaven. He is the Lion and the Lamb. He is both triumphant (‘has triumphed’, 5:5) and slain (‘you were slain’, v.9). Jesus can be both ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ (Revelation 5:5) and ‘a Lamb [that] had been slain’ (v.6).

Jesus took on powerful opponents with lion-like courage: for example, throwing out the money-changers from the temple. On the other hand, with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11), he could have been stern, but instead he was gracious and gentle as a lamb.

Blocking the flood of evil into our lives requires us to do hard things. We must be lion-like – bold, steely and courageous. Doing things the right way means being like a lamb – gentle, meek and submissive. We are supposed to be a godly mixture of the qualities of both the lion and the lamb.

The challenge for us today is to follow the example of the one we worship. To be both a lion and a lamb…