My friend Amy (our church keyboardist) sent me this video.
These days I never know if what I see is reality or virtual. In any case, it’s worth a look . . .
http://www.vitality101.com/Fun/lion-kisses-rescuer
I had just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia about the sixth time. So my first thought was “Aslan!” What’s an Aslan? If you have to ask, you really should read these books and catch an imaginary, entertaining look at the kingdom of God through the eyes of a child. They are C.S. Lewis at his most creative.
Here’s a sample from the first in the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chapter 14). Aslan the lion (the “Jesus figure”) has been executed on the Stone Table by the Witch and a mob of Aslan’s evil enemies. Susan and Lucy are two girls from England who, along with their brothers Peter and Edmund, have surprisingly entered the land of Narnia through the back of a wardrobe in an old mansion they’re visiting. In Narnia the girls have witnessed Aslan’s death. Now, some time later, they walk sorrowfully back to the Stone Table. But the Table is empty! Aslan’s body is gone! Suddenly, he appears–alive! Lewis describes their joy . . .
Round and round the hilltop he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws and catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one has ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten, Lucy could never make up her mind (Chapter 15).
Now you know why my first thought was “Aslan!” By the way, to check out the books, click the link below.
My second thought after the video was, “Isaiah!”
From 9:8-10:34 the prophet warns Israel and Assyria that the LORD will come with a mighty axe and cut down the arrogant nations as a woodsman levels lofty trees. But then . . .
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). Jesse was King David’s father. From his family, Isaiah declares Messiah will come, like a small branch sprouting from a leftover stump. Messiah will be empowered by the Spirit of the LORD and reign in righteousness (Isaiah 11:2-5). Here is how Isaiah paints the peaceful picture of Messiah’s kingdom . . .
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox . . . They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6,7,9).
The apostle Paul tells of the same future when he promises that we are . . .
” . . . heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:17b-23).
Imagine a creation where every child plays safely without a trace of fear . . . where our bodies are glorified like the body of our Lord never to be weak or sick, never to die . . . and where the whole created order is transformed so that lions hug your neck and lick your face!
Here. Take another look. And dream, child of God–dream of our future with The Lion . . .
http://www.vitality101.com/Fun/lion-kisses-rescuer
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