I’ve written for a week on Deep into Love of why I blog in this full of awesome Christian “mommy blog” community. I’ve also touched upon how I realize I’m out of place here, and how some have been, and still are, wary of this single, never been married male, barging into this charmed circle.
The lamb and wolf metaphor was born as my mind raced to imagine the most precious, yet vulnerable animals, and also a fierce predator. In a blink, the picture became clear. Lambs – all full of fluff and cute and gentle and good – contrasted by the menacing animal whose only redeeming quality seems to be that they transform into the lovable group of Bella protectors in Twilight.
And there was my metaphor…lambs…and wolf.
But my mind doesn’t readily go down the Twilight path – I’ve seen all of ten minutes of one film and never read the books. But my mind always goes back to the biblical path. And this time it went back to wolf in the bible…and the picture wasn’t pretty. The Bible sees the wolf as…
…the hunter, devouring prey in the morning and sharing the spoils of the hunt in dark of night. (GEN 49:27)
…catching and scattering lambs if a shepherd doesn’t keep watch. (Jn 10:12)
…wicked and deceitful, sneaky and ravenous, and not at all nice to lambs. (EZ 22:27, ZEP 3:3)
…and leading lambs astray. (MT 7:15) (Acts 20:29)
… in short, lambs are good, wolves are not. (MT 10:16)
But yesterday I discovered this…
for the very first time….
and I was shocked…
because we ALL get this one wrong.
In the Kingdom of God, which is still “yet” to come…
but arrived when Our Lord was walking this earth…
and so…is here…in our midst…now…
it is not the lion who dwells with the lamb…
it’s not the lion at all…
it’s the wolf…
and it’s not just in one place in the Bible…
but two…one near the beginning of Isaiah and once near the end.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb… (IS 11:6)
The wolf and the lamb shall pasture together… (IS 65:25)
And so I don’t discount the weaknesses I have.
And I shouldn’t, because as saved as we are…
as sinless as we are by the Grace of Jesus, our Lord and God…
we’re still weak, we’re still flawed, we still sin…
and if I’m not seeking hard after Jesus…
I can lie. I can mislead. I can scatter. I can hunt.
So Scripture speaks to me…
take care and watch over the tendencies of a wolf…
the weaknesses I know so well as a man.
Scripture speaks to me…
seek hard after God…
as I have…
and make sure…
as I also have…
that I am the wolf of Isaiah.
The wolf of Isaiah knows that the pasture belongs to lambs.
He knows he is an honored guest of the lambs…
and should tread only where he is invited…
and be sensitive to where only lambs should gather…
and he knows he’s not a lamb.
All this as he grazes alongside the lambs…
sharing the same food…
devouring together…insatiably…
the love of God and the Word of God…
and the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb…
and they shall pasture together.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my goodness, Craig . . . this may be one of my favourite posts. I love that Scripture speaks so specifically to us and you have totally substantiated what I just wrote about in my 5 Minute Friday Writing Challenge post. You are truly a great treasure hunter and have been rewarded with a magnificent revelation. I am thrilled you have shared it and am honoured to feed in the same pastures as you do. (BTW I have never thought of you as a wolf in the stereotypical connotation.) The last picture of the wolf is amazing.
Oh my goodness, Craig . . . I think this is my favourite post! I love it how the Scriptures speak so specifically to our need and you have totally substantiated what I just wrote about in my 5 Minute Friday Writing Challenge post. You are a great treasure hunter and have been rewarded with a magnificent revelation. Thank you for sharing it with us. (BTW . . . I have never viewed you as a wolf in it’s negative connotation.) The last photo of the wolf is so beautiful.
and Andrea Dawn, this one and its sister post on Deep Into Love are two posts I really didn’t want to write – didn’t think I would – but it just weighed heavy – and this is a good place to share stuff with you and everybody, right? It is an interesting coincidence (?) that I needed a metaphor – I thought of lambs and wolves – and then I thought like everybody else that the verse in the Bible was the lion will lay with the lamb – wrong – that was a shocker – and so that led to the study of what wolves can do – and what I did once and often before I knew our Lord. Things are differences with him. No? Still – they are all a good reminder for me to watch the Wolf – God bless you and Andrea Dawn, and thank you my friend.
Honestly, I have had lambs hurt me more than wolves, BUT I think that if those lambs had had strong, godly “wolves” (fathers/father figures), that hurt could have been avoided. John Piper said something on Facebook the other day: “Feminism is the deep angst over men not showing up.” (Doug Wilson)
If the Christian men of this world would man up and lead their families like they should, I think this world would change radically. Both for women AND men.
I speak from a background of very, very messed up men. They, of course, were raised by messed up men. The cycle CAN be broken, but like you said, you need to devour the Word of God to piece the brokenness back together. Remember, we are all broken. Wolf, lamb, turkey (I know a lot of turkeys! LOL)… We all need Jesus. This is in no way meant to come off as male bashing. As you know, I have a house full of men. 😉
You are a rare breed, my friend.
well, speaking as a messed up man who was messed up by a messed up father. I think I have to agree. And I had a mother who was brave and strong – but also messed up – by a messed up father – and a messed up mother come to think of it. The cycles are cruel and they do run generations don’t? I totally get the spirit of your whole comment – I get it. And thank you Layla – and I do say this with humility – I am now a rare breed – all wolf (the Isaiah kind) – all man – all little boy as all men are – but a heart that’s different than ever before. So I agree – and have to say – finally! But part of that me that is rarer and better than what used to be is that is seven humility – better late than never. I have grown – that’s a good thing. And so much growth because of this year in the “lamb” field. Thank you Layla, thank you. You are an astounding mama lamb. God bless.
Thank you, Craig.
I am so glad that God has opened your eyes to the beauty that He has instilled in you.
The Carepenter’s Daughter stemmed from a place of yearning for what I desired from my earthly dad, but remembering that I already had all of that, and so much more, from my heavenly Dad. Both are carpenters, but only One can piece the fragments back together. Only One is whole.
I do understand why lambs fear wolves, more than I’d like to admit. Most wolves don’t change, and if they do, it’s only for a season.
Praise God for the mercy He sings over our brokenness!!! God bless you too.
I get why lambs fear wolves too – so would I. These changes of just the last few years for me – capped off by this last year – I think they’re there for good. God bless you!
I, too, am glad you cleared up the lion/wolf thing, and the wolf/lamb thing. So amazing!
I think that if Christian men and women would allow the Holy Spirit to more fully lead them, lives would be radically changed. It seems to me to be so much about truly allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us, as we draw closer in and higher up to Him. Eyes off of others and onto Him for our example, unless of course we are seeing Him in others. Craig, I frankly rarely think of you as a ‘guy’ among gals but rather as another Christian sibling who does such an awesome job of ‘getting it’ and then articulating ‘it’ to those of us who traipse here. I am aware that you are a guy, but I have never thought of you as an interloper.
Before the Fall, lambs and wolves were both good, no? And the wolves were probably vegans back then.
Isn’t that a shocker A.?! It’s almost as bad as “God helps those who help themselves”. That gets quoted all the time as being biblical – and it’s not – and then there’s the “money is the root of all evil” – and the actual quote is the “love of money is the root of all evil”. everything is broken – and we – all of us – read sometimes what we want into the Bible – or add a little bit extra that we want. We are all a mess – of COURSE we are. I’ve seen the words hung in house before saying, “God bless this mess.” – It means a lot more than we think – I think. And thank you for “getting” me – you have from the very start. I remember when you read those early posts – I remember the caution – but I also remember the smiles. Thank you for everything A. And if you remember my post on spiders – I have a feeling not all animals were even made before the fall – some probably came after. If wolves were before the fall – obviously they were nice. And probably not vegans – who knows if Adam and Eve even had to eat – we know they did – or at least we know they eight one thing – but who knows if they had to eat anything at all – obvious pun warning for the following words – wait for it – “food for thought”. ツ God bless you A. You were missed.
Spiders are death with legs.
Food for thought: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2010/03/02/satan-the-fall-good-evil-could-death-exist-before-sin
I think you missed my post a while back on spiders – I agree with you about them – and your answer. Plus my post is way better than that article (written by a man) God bless you my friend!
Very, very good Craig. And the pictures were beautiful.
thank you Victoria, thank you. And the last picture – that’s actually a painting – the artist really did do a beautiful job on it. They have a few wolf paintings on the site. I especially love how the reflection of the wolf is on the ice below. It. The symbolism of the real wolf and wolf reflection – that’s why I chose it. Plus it seems to me that he doesn’t seem at all mean – but he does seem vigilant – like the “Isaiah” wolf hould be. And what I want to be – strong, but watchful, vigilant over my weaknesses. God bless you Victoria
What a bad rap wolves have gotten… fairy tales (The BIG BAD Wolf) and fables (The Boy Who Cried Wolf) and, as you say, scripture.
Not many years ago a book came out, Women Who Run With the Wolves. Why don’t you write your own book called, Wolves who Run With the Sheep? Heeee! Admit it Craig, you’re just a sheep in wolf clothing 😉
Hmmmm. he says – or a magazine article – book deals are notoriously hard to find – “The Wolf Runs with the Lambs – the diary of a sheep in wolf’s clothing” Hmmmmmm.
and then he says. “That woman – she is a brilliant soul!” – and he means it.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Craig,
i have never thought of you as a wolf. there was a time when you first showed up on my site to comment, that i was startled to see you there, and as you said, you understand why lambs fear wolves. as soon as i got to know you, i knew what a harmless wolf you were, more like a big ‘ole teddy bear. the problem, i think, is that someone judged and spoke before getting to really know you and in my opinion they spoke before they thought of what was coming out of their mouth, which is what we are all capable of at times. but in this instance, i think it was outright meanness. as the bible says, out of the heart, the mouth speaks. we should all be careful to examine our own hearts before we speak cruelly of others.
i really liked the way you laid out the overlooked secret in the bible concerning wolves, and as your friend stated, what a treasure you have happened upon as a reward of your seeking!
your friend,
Nacole
Nacole – I’m just so slow to understand that I can’t barge in, and they can be my exuberant, emotional self, the first time I comment on a woman’s blog. I could if I was a woman – but not as a man – I need to keep that in mind. I’ve just gotten so comfortable commenting on all the blogs that I heart – like yours – that I forget the first time a Christian woman sees a comment from me – it can be a thing. Anyway – if it it just stopped with those tweets – that would be different – but it spread. Hurtful words – and hurtful acts have followed. Anyway, I’m growing through this – and thank you – think you MY FRIEND.
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