The Lion AND The Lamb

There's really no two ways to look at this. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah as well as the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. Too often, I believe, we have focused on one aspect. Some of us are consumed with His suffering. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, atoning for our sin. Or we have completely switched our focus to the Lion who comes to conquer. The book of the Revelation becomes our guide. Completely overlooking the fact that both images are portrayed even there.

Which brings up an important question: Can we talk about God being Almighty without recognizing the fact that He is also Al-vulnerable?
It seems to me that both are true. That our Heavenly Father has proven Himself to be able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think, while at the same time being able to be touched by the feelings of our infirmities. God, in all of His might and power, humbled Himself on our behalf. Gave Himself to our misunderstanding. Came into our darkness. What may seem like a paradox to so many, has provided incredible insight into the nature and character of God.

This insight becomes even more incredible when we hear of Jesus being described as the "lamb slain before the foundation of the world." WHAT? I thought Jesus was slain somewhere around 33 AD. Well, according to our timeline you would be correct. However, according to the purpose and intentions of the Father it was long before.

The Lion and the Lamb reminds us that we cannot put God in a box. That we cannot simply ascribe to Him just one aspect of His nature. That we cannot talk about the wrath of God without the love of God, the judgement of God apart from the mercy of God, or the grace of God without the discipline of God. Rather than being opposite sides of the spectrum, in the Father we understand that they all go together. Or another way of looking at this is that He is not like us. We cannot seem to figure this out. We know wrath but we don't understand it in the context of love. We know judgement but it's not normally given out with mercy. We think we know grace but are dismissive of discipline in the midst of it. No...our Heavenly Father knows exactly how to be Himself in all of these things. They are not contradictions but compliments of one another.

He is Almighty but He is also Al-vulnerable. In fact, I believe that we discover in Jesus a God that has been more vulnerable than mighty. That in His stooping down that He has provided so much more for life. That in giving Himself to us that He ushered in a greater reality. Where we discover that getting what you want does not always take the path of violence but often walks the road of suffering. Of course we know that Jesus could have called on legions of angels, but instead He gave His back to the whip, His head to the crown of thorns, His hands and feet to the nails, and His body to the Cross. The Lion did not become a Lamb in that moment. He just proved that He was the Lamb as well.

I find it interesting that when we want to talk about God and His might that we have to pull up a lot of Old Testament references. Verses of Scripture that prove the power of God. All the while, the Gospels seem to shed light on the fact that we have often missed the whole point. That God was much more than a localized deity acting on behalf of the Jews. That much of what had been attributed to Him was done on behalf of the entire world. To protect the Seed. To ensure that Jesus would come to save, heal, and deliver all of humanity. "In you (Abraham) all of the nations of the Earth will be blessed."

Can we be comfortable with this type of thinking? I realize that much of our teaching and preaching tends to lean to one side or the other. Not really understanding the power of God we often attribute the power of God to things that our out of our realm of understanding. Hurricane Katrina was a means of God judging the sinful people in New Orleans. Even though the French Quarter was relatively untouched. And we never seem to have an answer for all the innocent ones who were hurt in other parts of the country by the same storm. Think about it. At least in the Old Testament Scriptures areas where we believed God was demonstrating His judgement it seems to me that only that area was affected. I would dare say that we have witnessed more of God's vulnerability in our lives than His power. Which should give us an even greater humility in our understanding of God. To rejoice with the psalmist when he said, "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities."

Maybe, just maybe, we haven't wrestled with this enough. Maybe we don't understand the power that is needed to be compassionate. Maybe we have forgotten the strength that it takes to give mercy rather than judgement. Maybe we haven't been able to appreciate the Lion and the Lamb being in perfect unison. That in giving Himself God was waging war against a greater problem than humanity. That the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world was actually the Lion of the tribe of Judah taking back what was lost. If we can somehow grasp this, somehow come to terms with the nature of God in this way, maybe we will learn what it means to rest in the goodness of God.

God is much more patient than we have appreciated. "Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Even today He calls to each of us. Even after all of these years He has not left us to ourselves. He doesn't need to demonstrate His might (at least not the way in which we have believed), He simply asks us to share the story of His vulnerability. It is the "kindness of God that leads to repentance", and the Gospel (the Good News) is still "the power of God unto salvation." How is that possible? It's only possible in the Kingdom of the Lion and the Lamb. A Kingdom where God is Almighty and Al-vulnerable. It's truly remarkable.