The Lion and the Lamb

   “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World!”  (John 1:29)

  “and said to the mountains and rocks,  “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” (Revelation 6:16)

  Oswald Chambers is one to the heroes of the faith. He was a Scot who came to know the Lord under the preaching of Charles Spurgeon and was challenged to have his life turned over completely to the Holy Spirit by F.B. Meyer. In 1911, he felt God had called him to start a school for men desiring to be preachers of the Word of God and from his prolific writing and teaching we have over 30 books that were only published by his wife after he died, the most famous of which is “Utmost for His Highest.” He died from appendicitis while ministering to the soldiers of Great Britain from England, Australia, and New Zealand in Egypt during World War I as those soldiers prepared to take the land of Palestine and Transjordan from the Turkish Empire, countries we know as Israel and Jordan today.

   Mr. Chambers does an outstanding job of talking about the paradox of the Lion and the Lamb of God:

      “In the days of His flesh Jesus Christ exhibited the divine paradox of the Lion and the Lamb. He is the Lion in majesty, rebuking the winds and demons: He was the Lamb in meekness, ‘who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return.’ He was the Lion in power, raising the dead; He was the Lamb in patience—who was ‘led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.’ He was the Lion in authority, ‘You have heard that it was said…But I say to you,…’: He was the Lamb in gentleness, ‘Let the little children come to Me…and He took them in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.’

     In our personal lives Jesus Christ proves Himself to be all this—He is the Lamb to expiate our sins, to lift us out of condemnation and plant within us His own heredity of holiness: He is the Lion to rule over us, so that we gladly say, ‘the government of this life shall be on His shoulders.’ And what is true in individual life is to be true in the universe at large. The time is coming when the Lion of the Tribe of Judah shall reign, and when ‘the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ.’

    One remaining paradox---In Revelation 6:16 ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ is mentioned. We know what the wrath of a lion is like—but the wrath of the Lamb!—it is beyond our conception. All one can say about it is that the wrath of God is the obverse side of the love of God. (Reading 349, The Utmost Devotional Bible, originally in 'Conformed to His Image,' Oswald Chambers)

    God has given all of us the opportunity in one way or another to accept Him as our Lord and Savior and to serve Him completely. He has also given us the ability to ignore Him and not accept His free gift of salvation or to completely surrender our lives to serve Him with our whole heart. Where are you today and what would He have you do?

Pray

1.     Lord thank you for dying on that cross in order to take the penalty of my sin and all those who accept your free gift of salvation.

2.     Help me this day to live for You. Help me to seek your face in the Scriptures and to examine my life to see if I am living for you every day.

3.     Forgive me of my laziness and casual attitude I take toward You. You are my Commander, my Father, and my King. Help me to live this day filled with Your Spirit