[NOTE: THIS WAS MY DEVOTION FOR 9/13/08]
"The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling togehter, and a little child shall lead them..."
(Isaiah 11:6)
Ah yes, Isaiah's "peacable kingdom" imagery. One of the more memorable passages in the Old Testament. All sorts of natural enemies are living together in peace: wolves/lambs... leopards/baby goats...calves/lions... cows/bears... lions/oxen... children/snakes. "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (v.9).
This is more than a "heavenly petting zoo" where all the critters have been spayed, neutered, defanged & declawed (and quite possibly tranquilized!). This is not a superimposed "cease fire" where the animals are forbidden to "act out" their aggressions. This is a complete REORIENTATION! Those who had been natural enemies (predator/prey relationships) no longer are. Their basic needs are met and their "culture" has changed. And a little child shall lead them.
As Christians, we see Jesus as "the little child," born in a lowly Bethlehem manger, as the One to usher in this new era of existence. The "Prince of Peace" comes to dissolve the human boundaries, prejudices, fears & tensions we've erected between us. We are called to envision (and work toward!) a time when everyone will dwell together in peace & security. Is this a "pipe dream"? An impossibility? Something that can never hapen? Some may surely think so. But I have to believe that it can happen. I have to be the one to start, however. I can't wait for others to change their attitudes toward me. I must seek to be a "peacable kingdom kind of guy." Will I see this vision come to pass? Who knows. That's not the point. The point is God's call towards this. Period.
PRAYER: Some things just seem so unlikely, Lord. Like everyone in this world living together in peace. And yet, your desire is for just that. Help me to not only believe that to be true... but have my actions bear out that belief! AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment