My cute stuffed lion sits on my desk here. A reminder of Aslan — the representation of You, Lord, in the movie version of the C.S. Lewis classic, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
I look at this cuddly toy and I marvel, Lord. Because You, too, are cuddly. The Lord of the Universe… cuddly? In a heartbeat!
“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (Psalm 91:4)
Yet You are also powerful in ways that sometimes leave even us, Your people, trembling. Even as You move mightily on our behalf.
“They will follow the Lord; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west… ‘I will settle them in their homes,’ declares the Lord.'” (Hosea 11:10,11b)
It reminds me of a commercial I saw recently, Lord. Although her parents are right there, a little baby girl is crying hysterically because the family dog is too close. A golden retriever. In the next scene, the dog is banished to the hallway while the parents play with the baby. Except the baby is focused on her favorite toy — a stuffed lion.
The camera pans to the dog. Was there ever a more mournful face? 🙁 Don’t they love me anymore???
The dad notices. We can all tell… He has an idea! He looks at his iPad. Amazon Prime. With a click, he has purchased something. He nods at the dog and smiles.
In the final scene, Dad leads the dog out of the hallway. The dog is wearing his new gift — a lion’s mane! He looks like he just stepped out of the jungle! He approaches the baby, who looks up from her stuffed lion. Her mouth and her eyes wide open! Has her toy come to life???
Dog and Baby gaze at each other for just seconds… before Baby reaches out to Dog with both hands!
Melt my heart! 🙂 🙂 🙂
I met a new friend recently. She grew up in a family that painted a pretty scary picture of You, Lord. As if You were a harsh, predator lion who roars just before he kills and eats his next meal. As soon as she could, she ran as far away from You as her legs (and the lies she had come to believe about You) would carry her.
I remember when I did the same thing, Lord. I couldn’t imagine You could ever be approachable… much less, loving. Or anything other than scary-to-the-core.
There was no Amazon Prime back in those days. But it would never have had what I needed… would it, Lord? Only You did. And You knew exactly how to reach out to me, in the personal and perfect ways that melted my heart!
There’s a melted heart in my friend’s future, too… isn’t there, Lord?
“Come with Me… My bride… Descend… from the lions’ dens… You have stolen My heart…” (Song of Songs 4:8-9)
🙂 🙂 🙂
Abba’s Girl