God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14
C.S. Lewis, a prophet of the twentieth century, writes about Aslan, the lion representing God in the Chronicles of Narnia. He writes, “He isn’t a tame lion, you know.” Indeed, he is not tame.
As a theologian, pastor, and chaplain I have a great fear that lurks in the back hallways of my mind that comes to the surface occasionally. I fear we, as American Christians, have domesticated God. We have taken the Great Lion of the tribe of Judah, and we have said, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.” We have become content with a God who is our Savior but not our Lord. We are willing to take the blessings but not the orders. We are willing to be believers but not disciples. What a Friend we have in Jesus has become our favorite hymn, but Master, Let Me Walk with You scares us half to death. The thought of God not being a tame God scares us beyond words.
Thousands of years ago, a man named Moses had similar struggles with God. He wanted God to be, well, controllable. He wanted the pocket Yahweh that you could pull out when you needed him and put him away when he started to get in the way. It did not work well for Moses and will not work well for you. After Moses unsuccessfully negotiates with God concerning his next big assignment, God gets a little short-tempered with Moses. Concerning the extraction of God’s people from Egypt, Moses said, “Who shall I tell them has sent me?” God replies, “I am who I am.” A loose translation, “I am the one who does what he pleases.” Which, when all is said and done, is a pretty good definition of God, “He isn’t a tame lion, you know.”
BLUF(bottom line up front): If it pleases God to see me through tragedy instead of around it, then this is what I should do. God was not created for me. I was created for God. If it pleases God for me to go to war, I go to war. If it pleases God for me to stay home, I go home. If it pleases God for me to make a sacrifice of generosity, then that is what I should do. After all, “He isn’t a tame lion.”
Have a Great Week!
-Pastor Corey
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