One of my fears in life is to reach the end with dreams and ideas left undone and untried. To have lived any portion of my life caged by fear and circumstances within my control.
I grew up in a small town where there was not much to do or see. I remember the first time I ever went to a zoo. It was in Albuquerque, NM. I walked around eyes full of wonder as I saw animals in real life that I had only ever read about or seen on TV. The day was full of adventure.
Then I came to the Lion exhibit.
I will never forget those moments. Not too far away from me was The King of the Jungle. The apex of predators. The embodiment of power and awesomeness. There was a wave of fear, awe, wonder, amazement, and respect that swept over me as a young kid.
I remember going on a trip with my dad when I was younger. He was teaching a class at a Fire Academy and I got to go with him. It was incredible! One night we got Burger King for dinner and a Hershey Cream Pie for desert (still a favorite) and headed back to the hotel. While we were eating we found a movie to watch. It was "The Ghost and the Darkness" with Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. The movie tells the story of The Tsavo Man-Eaters, two lions that killed between 28-31 railroad workers. It probably wasn't the most age appropriate movie for me to watch, but it sealed in me an awe and wonder for lions!
Many years later and many zoo trips later my favorite exhibit is still the Lions. Now as a bigger kid I can process so many more emotions and feelings that seeing these beasts provoke.
These days I both love and hate the lion exhibits. There is a love for the shear awesomeness of the lions, and there is a hate for the look in their eyes.
The look is one I see in many faces and even in my own eyes some mornings in the mirror.
It is the look of knowing you were made for so much more than what you are doing right now.
Male African Lions lead and protect a pride of lioness and cover a territory up to 100 square miles. When standing they can be anywhere from 4.5 to 6.5 feet tall and weigh anywhere between 265 to 420 pounds. From the moment they are born they know that they have a huge assignment and purpose. They know that they are born to be audacious, ferocious, courageous leaders.
Now take that lion, born with all of that potential and knowledge place him in a cage at a zoo for his entire life, and the result will be that look in his eye.
“8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ”
When you and I choose to make Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior there is this thing that happens inside of our hearts. It is the birth of the dream to change the world. It is birthed inside of us because Jesus told his disciples that they, that you and I, would do what he had been doing and even greater things than he did. And he did nothing less than change the world. I love what C.S. Lewis says about this idea...
“We may be content to remain what we call ordinary people: but he is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility; it’s laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.”
Lions on the plains of Africa are ferocious things. They walk with confidence because they know that they are being who they were designed to be, They do not shrink back from that, they do not apologize for that, they simply live it out because for them there is no other option.
Lovers of Jesus should be audacious, ferocious, courageous leaders. Not overbearing, angry, threatening, and loud leaders, that is not what I am saying. I am saying we should be:
Audacious in our dreams and desire to see the world encounter Heaven and Jesus.
Ferocious in our commitment to what God has placed in our hearts and asks of us.
Courageous in our faith in stepping out of the boat even in the midst of terrifying storms.
Leaders that others love to follow, that lead people to the love and power of Jesus.
Where has God gifted you to change the world?
How has God equipped you to change the world?
What passions burn in your heart?
Be not those who shrink back from their destiny for fear of what others may think, be audacious, be ferocious, be courageous. Change the world.