ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday

Isaiah 11:6-9
⁶The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.
⁷The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
⁹They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.

We have a dog that has, to put it mildly, a lot of energy. Those who have met Woody the Puggle have experienced his exuberance for being part of God's creation. I walked into our living room the other morning just in time to see our son tackle the dog. I gasped in anticipation that the scene would end poorly for all involved. Imagine my shock when the dog simply rolled out of the way, and then sat very, very still as our son gently stroked both of his ears.

I don't think the early-morning scene was a sign of Christ's coming, but it gave me a tender moment to witness gentleness and coexistence, as well as maybe a little bit of grace. The calf and the lion are not supposed to live together, the wolf and the lamb have designated places in the pecking order -- places that don't involved coexistence. But the branch that grows from Jesse's roots -- the One whom we call Messiah, Lord, Savior, Jesus the Christ -- changes all of that. Where do you witness that grace and that coexistence? And how can we continue to pray that into reality? 

Peace,
Pastor Jenn

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