On safari in Africa, our friend, who had been in the Rhodesian army, was our guide. My college friend and I had been invited to join him and his family as they returned to visit South Africa from the U.S. He drove us in a Landcruiser in the Kruger Park and he was fearless. He drove us up to a large bull elephant that could flip our vehicle with no problem. As we approached, the elephant began flapping his large ears as a warning to back off. Did I mention our guide had no fear? We finally got too close and the elephant charged. Our driver threw the SUV into reverse and backed up faster than the charging pachyderm could run. Just when we thought we were out of danger and far enough away not to be gored by a tusk or trampled under foot, our “friend” put the vehicle back into drive and approached the ticked off elephant again. His ears flapped and our driver inched closer, until once again, he charged. Once again, he sped backward, and out of danger. We were hoping that he felt he had sufficiently scared the Americans, but he was not finished. He did this a few more times, laughing harder at our fearful shouts to please not to do it again. We finally moved on and saw some Zebras, Ostriches,Warthogs, and other game. We watched from 100 yards away as a small female lion unsuccessfully stalked and chased a Giraffe. A bit later, our personal guide saw 3 large male Lions crossing the road ahead of us and drove between them, putting us face to face with a huge male lion inches away from our window. We were so close, I couldn’t get a picture of him with my telephoto lens (the one I thought I would need to photograph lions in the wild). His head was as big as the window. I was just glad he wasn’t hungry for American cuisine under glass at that moment, because the widow would have just been an annoyance to break, before dragging our flailing bodies out of the back seat to dine on us in the SA Highveld (broad grassy, plateau) to be the latest "lion kill" viewed by all the passing tourists. Our last meal would not have been our own. The night before, we had just heard the petrifying roars of one of his own just outside of our Kruger Lodge. His Panthera leo cousin had isolated a Wildebeest, he would later eat. His guttural roar was like none other, the power of its reverberation, freezing in terror his prey and us in our tracks. He left no doubt that he was the King of Beasts. The inconvenienced lion on the road gave us a sideways glance and finally walked around the car and disappeared into the bush. We were glad that, at that moment, Solomon’s words were not true in this case, “the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,”(Proverbs 30:30 NLT)
Sometimes some of us act like lions who won’t turn aside for anything. We act like predators, seeking weaknesses in others to exploit for our own benefit, especially those who disagree with us, or those we see as competitors. At one point in Israel's history, as the Prophet Isaiah is speaking to God’s people, he tells them of a time to come when there will no longer be predators and prey, but all will be at peace, and love will prevail. The Evil One’s ways of destruction and domination will no longer be the norm, but “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain,” says the LORD.”(Isaiah 65:25 CSB) It will no longer be the fearful life of “survival of the fittest,” or “only the strong survive,” or “natural selection” that seems to currently rule in the world. When Jesus came, He showed us another way…He tells us to love each other, even our enemies (Luke 6:35) rather than seek to destroy them. He teaches those who belong to him to be gentle with the weak, not take advantage of the weaknesses of others, but protect them. The “King of Kings,” “Lion of Judah”(Jesus) is driven by love, joy, and peace and He is a protector. We gotta stop acting like the one we used to belong to who came to steal, kill, and destroy, the Evil One, the Predator… We will act like the one who rules our heart, Predator or Protector.
Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!
