Is He Safe?:

“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good” - Mr. Beaver from C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”

In this quote from C.S. Lewis’ allegory, Mr. Beaver is talking about Aslan, the lion. This character draws a parallel to someone that Lewis knew back then and someone that I know today: Jesus Christ. The illustration of Jesus as a lion is biblical. Many times, He is referred to as the Lion of Judah. This brings an interest question to mind. If Lewis understood this quality in Jesus, why do we have this wimpy, white, North American view of Christ?

Lately, I’ve been reading Isaiah in my devotions and last night I came across a chapter the talked about The Day of The Lord. In this chapter, it depicts the horrifying demise of Israel’s enemies and judgment. This made me curious. There are other places where I have read that talk about The Day of The Lord with the same type of behind it. Again I ask: why do we have this wimpy, white, North American view of Christ?

Yes, God is merciful, He is compassionate, loving, etc. But, He is terrible, but He is good. Does that make any sense? When the Bible says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” , they’re right. When we can understand that God is both good and full of holy wrath, we can understand the desperate need to be on His side and get others there as well.

I’m not saying that we should serve God out of fear or use scare tactics to win people over. What I am saying is that each person needs to come to a place where that can reverently fear God because He is holy. I think that Paul hit that wall on the road to Damascus. There he is all big and bad, persecuting the Christians “for God”, following the law to the letter. Then Jesus steps on the scene and Paul is never the same. I know the biblical text doesn’t say this but I’m sure in older manuscript the phrase can be found: “And Saul crappethed his pants when he saw the Lord Jesus in all His glory.” I mean, not only is Jesus standing there with His high beams on Saul, but HE is standing there. His question “Why do you persecute me?” probably echoed in Saul’s head. To me it kind of seems like one of those “and who do you think you are?” statements.

Maybe I’m over interpreting the text, or maybe I’m on the level with it. But all I can say is that I am discovering that God has a more wild personality than we give Him credit for. I mean, look at how Jesus threw the tables of the money changers. A “nice, young man” wouldn’t do that. Also, think about His upbringing. Jesus was born Jew and the “son” of a carpenter which means that he probably had a dark complexion and followed in Joseph’s footsteps in the trade for a while. Any carpenter I’ve seen has not been physically weak. I bet Jesus had some “pythons” on Him. He also lived on the edge. I mean, he let the people beat the crap out of Him, crucify Him, and kicked death in the hiney. That’s my Jesus.

Some of these insights come from the book that I’m reading, John Eldredge’s “Wild at Heart”, which I have to say has been an amazing book so far and I recommend it to EVERYONE. If you’re a guy, read it... if you’re a girl, read it... you might understand guys better.