The Lion and the Lamb

Chronicles of Narnia is the BEST! Aslan is the king of Narnia. He is beautiful, yet terrifying at the same time. Powerful and fierce, he protects and rules the land of Narnia with justice. At the same time, he is loving and willing to sacrifice for his people. Who other could C.S. Lewis be parelleling this king after other than God Himself! Today, while reading through Hosea I came to a verse the reminded me of Lucy's conversation with Mr. Beaver in Chronicles of Narnia:

Then [Aslan] isn't safe?" said Lucy."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver;"..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good.

In Hosea 13, he speaks of the Lord's anger against Israel. In his anger, the Lord is a lion. He is fierce and powerful, strong and commanding. Just like Aslan's roar commanded attention in his presense, so the Lord commands us all to acknowledge Him. I don't acknowledge that God is powerful and worthy of such reverence. If I was in the presense of a lion, I would be sure not to cross him, yet I frivolously trespass on the Lord's rules everyday. God speaks of His power , which I fail to recognize in these verses of Hosea 13:6-8:

When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. So I will come upon them like a lion, likea leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart.

This is the Lord's wrath and what we fully deserve. He is more powerful than we could ever imagine, yet more merciful than we could ever hope for. Just as Mr. Beaver said to Lucy in Narnia, " 'Course he isn't safe, but he's good." I'm so thankful that God provided His Son to make up for all that we lack. What we deserve--death--His Son did on the cross and then overcame even that. Now, I can come to the throne of God and need to be more reverent in doing so...after all this He is not just the lamb, He is the lion as well.