Facing the "Other" Lion

[sgrigg]

It has been said that confession is good for the soul. I’m not sure if this holds true when it is posted rather than spoken but I have this war raging within my members, a very deep struggle. The conflict is that I have the heart of a good shepherd but the flesh of a hired hand. As I come to the middle of the section on “protection”, that conflict is fueled – perhaps because there is little else I am more passionate about than protecting the flock (and also myself). Yet, I recognize that flock protection and self protection cannot work in tandem. One must be sacrificed for the other.

There is a path I have been called to walk that leads to a God-sized vision. Over the past few days of this journey through While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks, the eyes of my heart have been opened to the lions that now sit on that path. There are four – the lion of my flesh, the lion of the world, the lion that seeks to devour and the “Other” Lion who perhaps (as Hezekiah laments in Isaiah 38) intends to pull down my house, break all my bones and make an end of me.

Today I stand on the path so close to the lions I can see their tongues sweep across bristled fur which leaves me wondering two things: Do I have the abandonment of Moses, that I might make Hezekiah’s lament my fervent prayer? Do I have the reckless courage to run into the midst of the lions for the sake of the flock or will I shrink back? I suppose the answer depends on the outcome of this war within my members between the good shepherd and the hired hand.