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Tag: Lion and Lamb

What happened on Christmas? – Perspective Matters

Going through some old pictures, I came across a picture that we as a family took in front of the art piece Lion au Serpent (1830s) when we visited the Musée du Louvre in Paris, in June 2015. While this may not seem to be directly connected with the motif of Christmas, closer scrutiny of this rendition surfaces the hidden treasure of what happened on Christmas?

Many a time we leave Christ as a babe in the manger instead of letting him be the reigning Savior and King of our lives. Pictures of the nativity, the star of Jacob, the magi and the manger, and more are shared through cards as greetings and while these things are apt to describe the unfathomable historic event of Christ Jesus’ birth on earth, they tend to limit our perspectives of what happened on Christmas.

Reflecting on this thought, there are a few perspectives of Christmas that I’d like to share that we ought not to miss.
On Christmas:
The Son of God (Col 1:15) became The Son of man (Luke 2:12)
The Prince of Peace from heaven (Isa 9:6-7) became a pauper on earth (Isa 53:9)
The King of Heaven became homeless on Earth (Matthew 8:20)
The Promised Son (Gen 3:15) was given for the prodigals 
God condescended so man could ascend (Heb 2:9-10)
The Potentate Lion of Judah came to earth as The Passover Lamb (Rev 5:5-6)

And you may ask – So What?
The son of God became the Son of man so sons and daughters of men can become sons and daughters of God);
The Prince of Peace became a pauper so that we who are paupers can become prince and princesses in heaven;
The King of heaven became homeless on earth so we who are homeless can have a home in heaven;
The Promised Son was given for the prodigals so that we who are prodigals can return home and be accepted just as we are;
God condescended so that we can ascend as sons and daughters of glory and be blessed in heavenly places.

What does Christmas mean to you? What is your Christmas perspective?
Is Christ Jesus, The Lion King of your life?

Merry Christmas. The Lord Jesus – The Lion of Judah has triumphed over the serpent.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

TigerOne of the songs that we jam to, on Guitar Hero World Tour, is the ever famous “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor (1982), the same song that is the backdrop to Sylvester Stallone’s movie – Rocky. Listening to this song, got me thinking as to what was so special about the Eye of the Tiger. Undoubtedly, it is intimidating, captivating and hypnotic to say the least.

The more, I pondered, the more, I felt myself bewildered and my mind wandered. I started to reminisce about a poem, I learned when I was a little child; the poem “The Tiger” by William Blake.

Excerpts of the poem are given below –

Stanza 1
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright
In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Stanzas 2,3 (skipped)
Stanza 4
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Stanza 5 (skipped)

Inquisitiveness to explore further, to glean the depth of the meaning, made me realize that while the poem may seem to be talking about one of God’s most beautiful and fearsome creation – The Tiger, it’s really about the creator God, the one who is immortal (whose immortal hand and eye it was), who fashioned and framed the Tiger (could frame thy fearful symmetry?). He is the same God who fashioned the Lion and the Lamb (Note the question posed by the poet – Did He who made the lamb make thee?).

Colossians 1:15-18 records the preeminence of Jesus Christ in all of Creation and verse 16 reads. For by him (Jesus Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.

Everything (the Burning Bright Tiger, you, me …), absolutely everything, was created by God and for God. This is something that should never be forgotten. We are made in God’s image, For GOD. and when God sees us, can it be asked – Did He smile His work to see?

Image Credits – http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricdiggle/3115830416/

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