The Lion Is God

I’ve recently finished writing Jack Power Book #2 – Young Lion Running.  And in it, I share a story with Jack Power that has stayed with me for years and that continues to impact and inspire me.  It is one of my favorite missionary stories, and it comes from a book I was gifted many years ago by my father-in-law, when I was first starting my missions learning journey!  The journey and the learning are ongoing, but this book stands out as a banger even all these years later! It’s titled, Christianity Rediscovered by Vincent J. Donovan. 

While serving among the Maasai people of East Africa, Donovan recounted a conversation he had with a village elder one night by a fireside.  The elder explained that he was struggling with the shallow word in their language for faith.  He felt there was more to it.  He was wise. 

He mused to Donovan that faith isn’t merely agreeing with something in your mind. That’s like hunting prey from a great distance with a rifle – only your index finger and one eye are engaged.  He believed real faith was far more like a lion pursuing its prey. Every sense is engaged. His nose and eyes and ears pick up the prey.  Every muscle is committed and coiled. The lion gives itself completely to the pursuit until it reaches what it seeks and then envelops it, wraps it up, and draws it close.  Then the elder went further and turned the imagery upside down.

He said, “All the time, we think we are the lion” —searching for God, trying to find Him, hoping we’ll reach Him someday.  But the truth is even better.  He continued, “in the end, the lion is God!” 

Mind blown! 

He is the One pursuing us.  When life feels lonely, He is near.  When suffering convinces us we’ve been forgotten, He is still searching us out.  When we wander, He doesn’t stop loving us. When we feel broken or too far gone, His pursuit continues.  The overarching message of the Bible isn’t that people found God. It’s that God came looking for people. From the very beginning, He has been relentlessly pursuing us with His great lion love.

If you feel isolated, discouraged, or forgotten today, remember this:  You are being pursued by a loving Father.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about

tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

No distance is too great.  No failure is too final.  No darkness is too deep.

He is still pursuing you.  

The Lion is God!