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The Real Lion King |
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by Dave
Desforge When I first saw the popular Disney movie, The Lion King, I found it to be a surprisingly spiritual experience. I left the theater that day with a strong sense of worship, and motivated to more boldly pursue God's Kingdom purposes. The reason? As I'll explain, the film proved to be an intense visual parable for a life-changing theme the Lord has increasingly impressed on my heart over the last eight years. AN OLD IMAGE It is this very symbol which we find in Revelation, Chapter 5. When John grieves because there is no one worthy enough to open the scroll or look inside, one of the elders proclaims: "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll..." (verse 5). The triumphant Lion of Judah is the only one found worthy. "Lion of Judah" is a Messianic title, taken from Genesis 49 where Judah is named a "lion's cub" and is promised the right to rule "until he comes to whom the right belongs and the obedience of the nations is his" (verses 8-10). Clearly, it is Christ who John sees as the Lion. C.S. Lewis graphically employs the same messianic image in his writings through the figure of the mighty Aslan. We are simultaneously attracted by his beauty, while hesitant due to his strength. In one section, the animals try to describe him to three young children: "Who is Aslan?" asked Susan. "Aslan?" said Mr. Beaver, "Why don't you know? He's the King.... It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus...." "Is -- is he a man?" asked Lucy. "Aslan a man?" said Mr. Beaver sternly. Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion -- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he -- quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." "That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly." "Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King I tell you." "I'm longing to see him," said Peter, "even if I do feel frightened when it comes to the point." Yet how often my own view of Christ has strayed from this truth. I have either thought Him good but safe, so I have been cavalier in my attitude; or else I have thought Him not safe and have not trusted Him to be good, so I have been fearful in my outlook. But it was the true image I had in mind as I sat in the theater that day and was presented with a new lion character, that of Mufasa. He is strong and royal. So powerful that His voice shakes the land. He is majestic and awesome, and all creatures bow before him and pay him honor, respect, and homage. He is definitely not safe! Yet he is indeed also a good king, wise and benevolent, caring for his subjects. Under his rule both the kingdom and his people prosper. The land flourishes, and so do it's inhabitants. All of it bringing to mind so many passages from the Psalms and prophets as they describe the Lord of the universe. THE KING'S SON Through his relationship with Simba, we also see most clearly the love of Mufasa, and his tender, gentle heart, . Though he is sometimes strict, his deep affection and delight is unguarded. After all, this is his beloved son in whom he is well pleased, and in whom he places his future hopes and dreams for the land. So he pursues Simba with training and discipline, he provides him with rules for his good, and he gives him a royal vision. Likewise, we who belong to Christ stand like Simba before the real Lion King: for the One who is glorious, omnipotent, and regal, is also our Father. We do not stand in relation to Him merely as King and subject, but as Father and son. I say son, because whether we are male or female scripture says we are children of God who have the full rights of sons (Gal. 4:4-7). Only sons in Paul's day had full privileges in the family and from the father. But in Christ we all stand son-like, and fully privileged. We are all sons of the divine Lion King in this sense. How different Simba's relationship would have been were he not Mufasa's son! How different he would have thought himself and have acted. I am convinced that it is one of the greatest tragedies of our time that we believers have so weak a sense of our God being a Lion and a King, who is also our Father -- our Abba, daddy. Because of our loss of so central a biblical truth, namely our adoption, we have not only fallen into grossly distorted relations with God, but have also forfeited our true sense of identity and abdicated our purpose. There may be no other doctrine which we verbally confess that is as meagerly lived out in real life. Consider it yourself. What would it do to your self image and the meaning of your life if you were to suddenly discover that you are royalty, an heir to a great kingdom, and the recipient of all the provisions needed for your position? Yet, that's what Paul says God gave you, and which was the whole purpose of your redemption. Hear Lewis again as he captures so beautifully our royal privilege: "'Creatures, I give you yourselves,' said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. 'I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself.'" Enter then the villain! Disney next introduces a character who is in the image of Mufasa, for he too is a lion, but who is dark hearted. He is the evil, Scar, a pretender to the throne who desires to be king himself. He is bitter, envious, jealous. He is deceptive, and scheming. Indeed, he is all that is opposite in character to Mufasa, most of all in that he is selfish and cowardly. Naturally, I thought of how scripture likewise uses the lion symbol for its anti-hero: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith...." (1 Peter 5:8, 9a). Scar prowls around seeking ways to prevent Simba from partnership with his father the king, and to usurp his throne as Satan does with us. Finally, he manages to trap the young prince within the path of a vicious stampede which he has arranged. Upon seeing the life of his son threatened, Mufasa valiantly rushes in to save him. He rescues Simba in the nick of time, only to be trampled under foot himself through the dastardly maneuvers of Scar. The father sacrificially gives his own life for that of his son. So also, in Revelation, Chapter 5, the image of the Lion of Judah who opens the scroll is connected with another: "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne...." (verse 6a). The divine Lion who majestically rules is also the sacrificial lamb whose blood redeems his people. He is the Lion-Lamb King. Simba is naturally devastated upon witnessing his father's death, and in the midst of his brief mourning, Scar seizes the opportunity. The crafty traitor lies to Simba, convincing him that he is guilty of his father's death, and that he is unworthy and inadequate to rule in his father's place. He suggests that he is a pathetic prince, undeserving to be a king. And this, too, is precisely where the tempter crouches at our door also, sowing seeds of doubt about who our Father is and who we really are. "You are not really a son," he whispers. "God does not truly have fatherly delight in you and dreams for you. You do not deserve the position as heir and partner. You are guilty and inadequate."
WIMPING OUT We are a Simba-like generation, repeating the Simba fallacy. We have traded lion hearts for medicated ones. We are runaways committed to problem-free living, to a problem free philosophy. Like Simba, we live unroyally, unkingly. We live like we believe the lies of the prowling lion, like we believe we are now fatherless (for he is dead, for all practical purposes, in our minds), that we are now orphaned and must do our best to escape the hideous face of reality. We act like we have no power, no provisions, no inheritance, no grand cause and mission. We have forgotten how to be lions. Instead we are captive to our own self-doubt. We have looked inside and found ourselves wanting, and so we are void of self-confidence because our confidence was in self. What has become of the power in our Christianity today? Where is our courage? Our bold and reckless sacrifice? We are so easily deflated, so easily discouraged. Have we become cowardly lions with no back bones? Of course what got Simba started on the old Hakuna Matata road was his own assessment that he lacked what it would take to represent his father. In all honesty there is no other valid inventory to which we can arrive either. In truth, we are inadequate, insufficient, unable, and incompetent to image the majesty of the real Lion King. But then again, we are not asked to have any of those qualifications. Ironically, we are told that it is in being weak, foolish and dependent that we are most fit as vessels for the kingdom. It is in humility, and in brokenness that we find our lion heart, because it is only a contrite heart that the Lion fills. We are right, all of us spiritual Simbas, that we are not worthy by strength or character or determination, not worthy of the King, nor of His kingdom task. But then, our worthiness was never a matter of personal resources. We are worthy solely by virtue of our being the child and heir of the King. He has made us worthy. The Kingdom is ours to co-rule because it belongs to Him, and we rule on His behalf, the One who has infinite personal resources.
THE CALL OF THE RUINS I can't help but think the Lord is looking on us as being in a similar state of disrepair and calamity. The earth is under evil rule, the land is failing, its inhabitants are dying, physically and spiritually. And all the while, the children of the King are cowering like whipped little orphans intent only on feeling better. We need a vision for the land, like Joshua, or like Nehemiah who mourned over Jerusalem, for it was "in great trouble and disgrace. The wall . . . is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire" (Nehemiah 1:3,4). To grieve as our Father does over the barren, disfigured, defaced condition of His beloved world and people. To be shamed by the object of ridicule we have become. To be inspired by the King's vision, His cosmic dream of beauty, restoration, peace, reconciliation, healing and life. To be captivated, enthralled and entranced with a singleness of purpose which dares us to move out as His partners into battle, and in fulfillment of what we were meant to be and truly are. In the meantime, all of creation groans, waiting in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (Romans 8:19). THE CONFRONTATION OF GRACE But my being indignant and rather smug quickly gave way to an overwhelming sense of sorrow, as I could hear my heavenly Father saying, "Isn't Simba, you?" And I thought sheepishly, "Couldn't my wife say those exact same words? "Why is he holding back? Why won't Dave be the king he is?" Surrounded by a couple of hundred annoyingly noisy, popcorn-throwing children, I began to shed tears. (And Disney never makes me cry!) I cried for the many ways I drop out and retreat. I cried for the way men especially are dropping like flies all over the church. I cried because as long as I can remember good women of vision have taken up not only their own part, but ours as well. I sorrowed for the Father's loss of glory, for my own forfeiting of privilege, for the institutions of our society that are falling like dominoes to the evil lion, and for the lost children of the King that are never finding their way back home. I wept, but I also got "good-angry": the kind that longs to get off the bench and back into the game to make a difference. Well, it's soon after that Simba meets up with a monkey named Rafiki, a medicine man of sorts, and who is, I suppose, meant to be a spiritual guide. He informs the young lion that his father, Mufasa, is still around, and he leads him to a quiet pool. Anxious to see his dad again, Simba is gripped with hope and excitement as he leans over to look in the pool with unbridled anticipation. But he is gravely disappointed when all he sees is his own face. Hanging his head, he complains, "That's not my father. It's just my reflection." To which Rafiki replies pointedly, "Look harder. You see, he lives in you." And then the young prince hears the voice of Mufasa, and we hear them converse: "Simba!" "Father . . . " "Simba, you have forgotten me." "No, how could I?" "You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place . . . " Simba then begins to protest timidly: "How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." But his father persists: "Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one, true king. Remember who you are. Remember . . . remember . . . ." How we continually need to hear the same thing. I found it inspirational and motivating, because it echoes the truth of our relationship with God. You are the spitting image of the true Lion King. You are His child, your Father's child, and look just like Him. You are not an orphan and need not run away. And you don't need a wise man, witch doctor, or medicine man to tell you that, because you have a counselor, the Spirit of adoption who does so (Romans 8:15-17). The Holy Spirit calls too. He cries out to your heart continually that you are a child of God and a Kingdom partner. He leads you to your Father, calling "Abba"; and the Father confirms that position and says, "Don't forget. Remember who you are." BACK IN THE GAME It was a move that took courage, for it was, as it always is, a death decision. A decision to die to his fantasy world, his commitment to medicated living, his love of pride and self-pity, his problem-free philosophy. And it is no different for us. To believe who I am is to return to the land of battle, and to let go of my vice grip on creating a carefree world. It is to denounce and repudiate the unroyal pursuit of orphan like living. And, most fatal of all, it is to move out in faith. You see, I believe, but I just don't want to bet my life on it. I'd much rather theologize than do something. But true faith is the substance of things not seen. It is taking a step out into the darkness. It is entering the battle before you have it figured out, before you feel strong enough or worthy enough. Faith is betting your life on it, even when it's against all odds. It is frightfully risky, the opposite of running away. It is to step out over the precipice of sacrifice, servanthood, and self-denial, clinging only to your Father, your identity, and His promises. I am beginning to learn what it's like to long to stay in the game, and how to pray toward that end. And I am convinced it comes only through a radical confidence in the King. From where, though, does that confidence come? It comes, I believe, out of the reality of realizing He is also my Father, and I am like Him. In all of my frailty and incompetence, I am, nevertheless, the son of the Lion King. That means I am not alone, I am not an orphan wimp, and I have a grand purpose. With eyes focused on His power, His grace, His resources, I can move out in faith. I'm beginning to catch a vision of the man I can become as I trust in Him, a son with courage, boldness and tenacity who cowers not before the glorious task. I'm praying more and more, "Father, take hold of me that I might take hold of the Kingdom." Will the sons of the real Lion King return home? Will they bring the Father's rule back to the dark, haunted, unenchanted forest. Will we hear His roar through them, and feel the Kingdom quake once again? Will the land heal and lost children be found? Well now, that all depends, for you are the son and so am I.
1995 David M. Desforge C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Collier Books, NY, 1950, pp. 74-76.
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Grace Community Church • 495 Cardinal Road, Mills River, NC 28759 • graceccinfo@gmail.com 828 891-2006 or 828 684-0033, fax 828 891-3534 |
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