The Lion and the Lamb
“And every knee will bow before the lion and the lamb. Every knee will bow before Him (Bethel Music)”
Read:
'But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” 'Revelation 5:5-10
Reflect:
During the worship session on Sunday, we sang the Lion and the Lamb by Bethel Worship and the song has been on mental auto repeat since. I keep reflecting on the oxymoron that Jesus is declared in scripture to be both a Lion and a lamb. In the animal kingdom, you couldn’t find two animals more opposing in character; one fierce, the other meek, one a predator, the other one a prey.
So how can these two titles be declared of the same God? As Lion, Jesus remains undefeated and mighty to fight our battles. He has already conquered the enemy so that we can fight our adversaries from a position of victory. Yet that same Jesus, ‘Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. ‘ Philippians 2:6-8
This is the truth of the Kingdom of God: the first shall be last and the last first, to give is more blessed than to receive (Read Matthew 5 – 7). Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah became the Lamb that was slain to save us from sin. What beauty to wield infinite power but choose to voluntarily lay it down for us to be able to come close to Him? The thought is too deep to truly grasp. Praise Jesus!
Beyond causing us to feel overwhelming gratitude and to dive into deep praise, how does Jesus as the Lion and the Lamb help us to walk through our days on this side of eternity?
We are joint heirs with Jesus and we have been consigned to a measure of authority on this earth through His name. Yet we are called to walk in humility, not thinking of ourselves too lofty. As Christ followers, we are called to love even those who make it difficult.
We are called to do what is right, to love mercy and walk humbly. At the same time, we do not give the enemy a foothold in our lives, we fight with weapons mighty through God to tear down strongholds and to silence principalities, powers and every evil thing. But we were never called to use that authority to tear down people. Humans we are called to love, as a matter of will not emotion. We ought to be both lions and lambs as the Holy Spirit leads.
If we truly read the “love verse” 1 Corinthians 13, it does not frame love as an emotion but rather a set of choices we make moment by moment to be an extension and a representative of Christ in the earth. Let’s choose love this week. Let’s be lions and lambs.
Song of the Week:
Journal Prompt:
This week, ask God to show you in what areas of your life do you need to be more the lion than the lamb and vice versa.
Declaration:
I fight a defeated enemy. Jesus who is both the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the Lamb that was slain is my example. I will be both lion and lamb today.
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Have a great week!
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