The Wolf and Lamb

The picture I used for my avatar is one that I made in my relearning recently. I do a lot of art. It allows me to be able to remember scriptures in an improved way if I can ‘see’ the scripture alive ~ so to speak.

I have tried to keep away from the ‘typical’ scriptures that anyone can find at their local Bible store. The classic bless-me and find-the-perfect-promise scriptures on posters, cards, wallets, pictures, neckties, coffee cups, tablets, plates, or anything else that is printable. I also have been trying very hard to never use a partial scripture. These are labeled as ‘a’ or ‘b’. Such as Mark 16:1a or John 14:10b.

A good example is Romans 8:1. It is usually quoted as a great guarantee of God! But usually only the first half is quoted. The first half says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” WOW! That is a fantastic promise!! The second part goes on to say: who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Wow again! So by adding the second part it kind of dulls the first half in its exclusivity of wowness! Now the promise is not to just any Christian but one specifically who is walking not in the flesh. There are a whole bunch of Christians that are walking and talking in the flesh... oh in the name of Jesus, of course!

I do not believe in the credibility of the numbering system within our Bibles to start with and then you get the certain denominations (which I won’t peg here), that love to dissect the scripture and only use a portion of it. So not are they only taking a scripture completely out of the historical and written context but now they do a cut-n-paste to make the scrap they want seem to work for them as if it were a talisman.

In my relearning I am discovering so many non-truths within the basic concepts that I have been taught whether in the institutionalized churches or in the particular denominations. I bumped into one of these non-truths when I had a brief thought of doing a picture of the ‘lion and lamb’. Like I said it was a brief thought because I didn’t want to do the same old ‘lion-and-lamb’ picture that we have all seen since childhood. I like to do extensive study on an art piece to make sure that I am being scriptural, that the scripture is in context and in full.

I was quite set back to realize that there actually is no scripture for the lion and the lamb together. Yes, Jesus is represented in both. He was the sacrificial Lamb and the Lion of the tribe of Juda. But to find a scripture that talks of the lion and lamb lying down comfortably with each other? It does not exist. What it does say in Isaiah 11:6 is ‘the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.’

WOW! No lion and lambie!!!! Well pop my religious bubble!

So that is how I came to make the ‘wolf and lamb’ picture that I used to use for my avatar.