Pulpit Today

A lion’s roar can be heard up to five miles away, and its reverberation literally shakes the ground.  People who have stood close to a lion’s roar have absorbed its shock to the core of their soul.  It is fearsome, yet majestic!  It is no wonder that the Bible presents Christ, our Lord, as a lion.  He is called, “the Lion of Judah.”  The lion symbolizes royalty and strength and this imagery perfectly characterizes our Lord.  One day, when we enter life beyond the grave we will face this irrepressible Lion.  That should strike fear within people who are unprepared to meet Him, because His wrath will be fierce and inescapable.  Yet those whose hearts are prepared to face this Lion can take comfort—He is their Savior and friend!

In November of 2006, I had a vision.  It unfolded as I contemplated the Lord’s liberating goodness.  During those special moments in the Lord’s presence, I envisioned what might transpire when I appear before this great Lion.  While I cannot provide a specific biblical reference for what I envisioned, I am confident it does not violate biblical integrity.  Let me share my stream of consciousness that day.

Life on earth takes many twists—expected and unexpected.  We experience fortune and misfortune, success and failure.  We enjoy seasons of health and endure seasons of affliction. We befriend and are enriched; we befriend and are betrayed.  We make decisions that forge our destiny and some decisions bring joy, while others deliver deep and grievous sorrow.  And where do we store these memories?  The great repository of life’s peaks and valleys is the heart.  The heart stores the memories we cherish and the woes we suffer.  Consequently, we don’t realize the weight of our load and grow accustomed to bearing our burdens.  The weight is there when we awake, work, rest, and sleep.  We talk about “unloading . . . and getting things off our chest,” but even then, some burdens never budge and remain bound within us.  It’s miraculous when a Christian can actually live in the renewing presence of the Holy Spirit and completely “cast their cares on the Lord.”  Solomon said the heart is ‘large enough to contain eternity’ and that’s why we stuff it with the weight of the world.  All the while, it yearns for unfettered freedom.

These were my thoughts in November of 2006, when I envisioned facing this Lion and hearing His roar.  Imagine with me.  Imagine that you just died and for a brief moment you travel through that corridor that connects earth with heaven.  All the events of your life flash through your mind like a deck of cards being thumbed—the joys, victories and pleasures; the sorrows, injustices and pain—you review everything.  Then, without power to retreat you are propelled directly into the face of Heaven’s insuperable Lord, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.”  And with His hot breath bathing your face He speaks, but not with words. With unexpected fury He roars, and though you’re an inch away you know the farthest regions of Heaven heard it.  But it was not without purpose; something miraculous happened.  The fury of that roar literally unshackles all the burden and weight of your heart.  Instantly, every ache of your heart vanishes and you are liberated!  The Lion has roared and your heart is “free . . . free indeed!”