Roaring Lions & Baby Killers

As some of you may or may not know, I have a new addiction... Nat. Geo. Wild! I lost Animal Planet since I moved... And I could get it back but I don't want the rest of the channels - except maybe Food Network - that go with it. But lucky me, Nat. Geo. Wild is a new channel I do get on my TV and I watch it bordering on obsessively. ha! Maybe not that bad but seriously, I love animals and will watch almost anything about them.  I learned something from a show I watched on Nat. Geo. Wild a while ago and what I learned is to be the premise of this blog post.

When male Lions fight they don't usually go after each other, blood and fur flying... Instead, they go after each other's cubs and whichever kills all the other's babies first is triumphant.  You're probably in a little shock - as was I - so just take a minute... The show I was watching showed a lioness finding one of her dead babies... She chased away the hyenas and vultures and lay down beside her baby, nudging it, smelling it, licking it and crying... Honestly, making noises like she was crying. She did get angry and rushed the lion she thought or knew had killed the cub but she must have known, alone, she couldn't take him on and never pursued an actual attack. Although it was narrated the attack never would have happened if the lioness was present with her cub, although the lion could have beat her alone, lionesses are most times in a group and the male lion wouldn't stand a chance against their combined strength.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8 (TNIV)

1 Peter 5:8 tells us the devil is like a roaring lion looking for people to devour... Revelation 5:5 says, in part, "...One of the Elders said, “Don’t weep. Look—the Lion from Tribe Judah, the Root of David’s Tree, has conquered..." (MSG) and you can probably see the comparison I am about to draw on... Since it is said the natural mirrors the spiritual I think there is a lesson to be learned here...  We must, as 1 Peter instructs remain on our guard. Protect ourselves against the devourer but along with that we must be a good mother to our Kings cubs.  Satan knows he cannot beat the Lion from the Tribe of Judah but he will try to kill his cubs in hopes of becoming greater: the weaker is always trying to sneak in and kill the babies of the King.  But a point made in the Bible in King James: Satan prowls about "as" a roaring lion... "As" because he's a fake, he is not as powerful as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he's not even a real lion! Satan can roar and stalk and it is scary, we should never take him on alone but just remember he can never win against the King and with our King we win!

As the church we are known as "the bride" of Christ, or "the Mother."  So let's not be like the lioness who lost and mourned over her cub... Let's not be without the King and make ourselves defenseless against the killer. Let's not turn our backs for even a moment to give any chance to our babies being killed in the battle against the King. Instead, we must stick together, support each other, stay vigilant both for our own sakes and for the lives of our babies in the church. Keep them safe from the devourer!  Just like the lion I watched that day Satan won't attack the strong corporate because he doesn't stand a chance and we need to make ourselves aware that - even within the church - there is strength in numbers - or the Bible would say unity or one accord - so, while our Kind is preparing our new home, stick together, keep safe and keep watch over His cubs!