The Lion, the Jeep and the Shotgun

"Safety is all well and good; I prefer freedom"...Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White



I had been thinking about it for some time.


My first job out of college was at a wild animal park in Irvine, CA. Now defunct, it was one of several around the country called Lion Country Safari. (It is now a water park called Wild Rivers, I think). It was unique in that vistors drove through in their cars while the animals roamed free. This was somewhat hazardous, as you can imagine, and one of my jobs as a "ranger" was to make sure the visitors didn't get hurt... or eaten, in the case of the lions.

I sat in a jeep, a loaded sawed-off shotgun next to me, for hours each day amongst one of the lion prides in the park. The lions would mostly sleep as the visitors sat in their air-conditioned cars, gawking at the wild, but relaxed cats. The cubs would play and the adults would move around somewhat. I was there in case something happened. People often rolled down their windows, which we instantly commanded them to put back up. (Each visitor had a tape tour which warned them about this-it also assured them that the "highly trained rangers" would be there for their safety. We all laughed about this-I had fired the gun exactly once at a board in the dirt.)

After a while, a certain lioness began to regularly lie down next to my jeep. I have no idea why. None of the others ever did, and usually gave the jeep a wide berth. They were not tame and we never got out with them. But this one just seemed , well, to like me.

I began to think about reaching through the bars on the window and seeing if I could pet her. Now I can't really explain why, I just wanted to. To see if I could. To see if she would let me.

It took days for me to work up the courage. And then one day, with my other hand on the shotgun, I reached out and stroked her back. She slowly turned up her head and looked up at me. Her eyes seemed to say "Well, if you want to, it's ok. I will allow it" She put her head back down and went back to sleep.

Is this not a picture of God? If we want to know Him, it is on his terms. He has the power to destroy us, but instead approaches us. As goes the famous line from Narnia, "He is not safe...but he is good."

Author John Eldridge speaks of the "wildness" of God, who does or allows the unexpected.

I'll never forget the day when the king (or queen I guess) of beasts did the unexpected: let me get close.

The King of the Universe invites us to come close to Him as well.

But on His terms.....

And that is, if you really think about it...unexpected