Our family of churches, Relational Mission, had our second leadership conference this last week. Five hundred or so leaders gathered from across Canada, Europe, Africa and beyond to spend four days hearing what God has been doing across the nations, and to be encouraged and strengthened as we see where God is taking us next, with a particular emphasis on everyone within our churches coming to see that God can and will use them to share the gospel with others. It’s good news!
We spent some really valuable time in praise, with a couple of songs that were new for me – two in particular have been stuck in my head since, one of which was the inspiration for today’s strip: The Lion and the Lamb by Leeland.
In Revelation chapter 5, John (the last surviving member of Jesus’ original 12 disciples) has a vision of worship before the throne in Heaven. In it, one of the worshippers speaks to John of the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah’ – whereupon John looks up to see ‘a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.’ Difficulties in imagining that aside, both references speak of Jesus, and for me this song really captures something of the incredible nature of God. How is it that one who can described like this:
His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:35)
Can also be described like this:
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:6)
He is the almighty God who consented to be crushed for our sakes; the unrestrainable lion, who yet went like a lamb to the slaughter. The supernatural creator who became a creature; the definition of holiness, who became sin; the wellspring of life who yet tasted death; and the king of all kings who became a servant. Who is like this? What else but a heart that overflows with unending love could cause one so high to become so low? Why not listen to that song again – and if you don’t know a God like this, open your heart and ask him if he’s as real, and as extraordinary as he claims?