Not a Tame Lion

Lewis famously labels Aslan as “not a tame lion”.  In so doing, he captures a characteristic of God that we often overlook. God is doing things his way, precisely because that is who he is. It is our job to uncover who he is and to see him as he is. 

“There are none so blind as those who will not see.” Another saying that fits the general character of man. When we get willful we do not even want to see. But that is not going to change who he is. We must earnestly hunger and thirst for righteousness if we are to see him at all, however dimly.

And that is precisely the point of the Word of God, the Bible. It is the fount of the definition of God; to it we must regularly pilgrimage if we are to come to know him better. I see my brothers and sisters in Christ ignoring the Bible at their very deep peril. We must spend our lives coming regularly to this fount if we are to know God at all. He is not a tame lion. I have spent my life trying to fit God into my box, only to find that the box I have constructed is not large enough after all, and I must throw it aside. But not to be dissuaded, I get busy constructing another box, sure that this time the box I have so carefully made will be a good fit. But to no avail. I think I have spent a great deal of my life constructing boxes, only to throw them aside as I realize that they do not, once again, capture his essence.  He is not a tame lion.

So it is a lifelong process, this coming to know God. And it is to his Word we must go again and again if we are to know him. Fortunately there is even a verse about our quest to know him ever better, and it is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

My life since accepting Christ can be described as one process of getting to know Him better and better. Not much else is important besides the aim of contemplating him to know him. Have you immersed yourself in the Word lately, so that you may know him better? How about starting today? It is a lifelong process, with a lifelong commitment needed on our part. I am afraid there is no other remedy. He is not a tame lion.