Helen Tyte

The Lion and the Lamb

In the jungle there lived a very proud lion. He had lived many seasons and knew that he was big, strong and powerful. All the other animals were scared of him, and would run for cover whenever they heard him approaching. The lion thought that this was hilarious,and he mocked them for their fears, pronouncing himself king of the jungle.

In the same jungle lived a tiny lamb. Her mother had warned her about the lion and had told her many scary stories of her friends who had been chased by him.

One day the lamb woke up very early feeling very thirsty and she trotted down to the river to drink. On her way back home she turned a corner, and there, right in front of her, stood the lion. He roared loudly at her, expecting her to run away as fast as her little legs could carry her, but to his enormous surprise the lamb didn’t move. 

The lion was very confused. ALL of the animals were afraid of him, so why didn’t this little lamb try to get away? Curiosity took the better of him and, rather than chasing her, he grinned and asked “Why are you not afraid? Do you not know that I could eat you in one tiny gulp?”

The little lamb thought quickly. She knew that she was very small and weak, and that she would never be able to outrun the lion. She replied “Well normally I would have been scared of you, but this morning I met another lion, even bigger and stronger than you.”

The lion stopped grinning and insisted “There should be no other lion in this jungle. Show me where you saw this imposter.”

The lion followed the lamb back to the riverbank, growling and muttering all the way about how he would beat off this new lion. They stopped by the river and the lion asked “Where is he then? I can see no other lion.”

“Take a step further forward, look down and you will see him.” insisted the lamb.

The lion took a big step forward and peered into the water’s depths. There, right before his eyes was the other lion staring straight back at him! He roared with all his might, to show how scary he could be, but the other lion just roared right back. 

Finally the proud lion could bear it no longer and leaped to attack. The lion realised his mistake as soon as his paws hit the water and broke his reflection, but there was nothing he could do to stop the river carrying him miles downstream and away from the jungle.

The little lamb went home and the lion was too ashamed to ever show his face in the jungle again.

The lion’s strength was in his power and might. The lamb’s strength was her intelligence and her ability to think quickly. 

We all have strengths and we all have a place in God’s mission for the church. From the youngest to the oldest, the lions to the lambs. Where do your strengths lie? What will you use them for this week? 

I pray that this week we will all know that God is our biggest strength, and that all things are possible through God.