Tame Lions

In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Mr. Beaver described Aslan in this way:

Is Aslan a tame lion? Of course he's not tame. But he's good.

That scene and that line has stuck with me since childhood - the fear the children had when hearing about Aslan for the first time - lions are fearsome beasts and Lions even more so.

I wonder how much of my energy as an adult is spent wishing for a tame deity and a tame religion - hoping for a small puppy dog when Jesus is - at the heart of it a Wolf - a purring kitten instead of a Lion. I think I waste a great amount of time and a great deal of fear worrying over the wildness of God. Primarily because I've neglected the last sentence - But he's good.

It is sometimes hard not to juxtaposition wildness with goodness - I all too often think of good as comfortable, cozy and easily within my control and that is not what real goodness is at all. Any goodness I can control is like weak tea instead of strong drink.

But he's good. Therein lies the reason for trust - not that God is a comfortable piece in a comfortable life - but rather because He is not and because that is good. A scary good, but good nonetheless :)