The Lion The Lamb

6 Then I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a lamb. It was standing there as though it had been slaughtered; it had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 The lamb came up and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne.

The Lion The Lamb

Our God is a lionThe Lion of JudahHe's roaring with powerAnd fighting our battlesEvery knee will bow before HimOur God is the LambThe Lamb that was slainFor the sins of the worldHis blood breaks the chainsEvery knee will bowBefore the Lion and the LambEvery knee will bow before Him

Using a lion and lamb metaphor is a concrete way for kids to learn about and understand self-regulation. Many times, kids understand when their body or brain is not in control. Situations can get away from a child, when they are unable to react or respond in an appropriate manner. Kids can use the idea of a lion and lamb to understand different ways that they might be feeling. This activity should be done in a separate time from breakdowns or tantrums. When a child is calm and open to talking about previous situations, sit down with the child or group of children and talk about how it might feel to be a lion and a lamb.

Then make a lamb craft out of a toilet paper roll. Kids can cut the paper pieces from cardstock or construction paper and work on gluing them on by copying a visual model. While crafting, discuss the qualities of a lamb, and how that relates to calm or soft voices, or peaceful and soft voices.

Another idea is to use this lamb handprint craft. Simply make a handprint using white paint and draw on the features of a lamb. Children can make the lion craft in the same way by sing yellow paint and drawing on or gluing on feature of the lion.

Next, come up with techniques to adjust to situations when the child needs to switch from a lion to a lamb or vice versa. One strategy is using sensory tools to help calm down or speed up our bodies. Try these sensory activities as a list of self-regulation strategies to address many different needs and interests.

Print off this self-regulation PDF and work on identifying areas of self-regulation with a lion and lamb theme. This is great for the month of March, but can be used any time of year using the lion and lamb imagery.

Using a lion and lamb metaphor is a concrete way for kids to learn about and understand self-regulation. Many times, kids understand when their body or brain is not in control. Situations can get away from a child, when they are unable to react or respond in an appropriate manner.

Kids can use the idea of a lion and lamb to understand different ways that they might be feeling. This activity should be done in a separate time from breakdowns or tantrums. When a child is calm and open to talking about previous situations, sit down with the child or group of children and talk about how it might feel to be alion and a lamb.

My guest today, is Jason Wilson, the author of Battle Cry: Waging and Winning the War Within. Today, Jason and I discuss why men have a hard time addressing and dealing with these wounds, the difference between being worried and being concerned, his own experiences with unhealed trauma, what it means to be a comprehensive man, a four-part framework for mastering your emotions, and how you can and should embrace in your inner lion and lamb.

Naturally, the lions are extremely hungry but they do not attempt to fight each other because they are identical in physical strength and so would inevitably all end up dead. As they are all perfectly rational, each lion prefers a hungry life to a certain death. With no alternative, they can survive by eating an essentially unlimited supply of grass, but they would all prefer to consume something meatier.

One day, a lamb miraculously appears on the island. What an unfortunate creature it seems. Yet it actually has a chance of surviving this hell, depending on the number of lions (represented by the letter N). If any lion consumes the defenceless lamb, it will become too full to defend himself from the other lions.

For N=3, if any one of the lions eats the lamb (effectively becoming a defenceless lamb itself), it would reduce the game to the same scenario as for N=2, in which neither of the remaining lions will attempt to consume the newly defenceless lion. So the lion that is closest to the actual lamb, eats it and three lions remain on the island without attempting to murder each other.

And for N=4, if any of the lions eat the lamb, it would reduce the game to the N=3 scenario, which would mean that the lion that ate the lamb would end up being eaten itself. As none of the lions want that to happen, they leave the lamb alone.

Essentially, the outcome of the game is decided by the action of the lion closest to the lamb. For each integer N, the lion realises that eating the lamb would reduce the game to the case of N-1. If the N-1 case results in the survival of the lamb, the closest lion eats it. Otherwise, all the lions let the lamb live. So, following the logic back to the base case every time, we can conclude that the lamb will always be eaten when N is an odd number and will survive when N is an even number.

My question to you today is, what is the picture in your mind when you think of Jesus Christ? We often see paintings of Jesus Christ either holding a lamb, walking with a lamb on his shoulder, sitting with children around him, hanging on a cross, the risen lord with the disciples. What is it that you often picture when you think of Jesus.

Notice here that this lamb is from everlasting to everlasting. He came into the world as a lamb, but he is the eternal word. There are hereby two truths that we see of the person of Christ, the Lamb of God. We see in the Bible that Jesus is both:

The Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God and this revelation is made to us through the Gospels. This is what the gospel reveals, proclaims and teaches. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. All the other lambs were only types as they could only point to the real lamb of God who is Christ Jesus. They could do nothing to deal with sin and they could not completely:

What does the Lion symbolize? The Lion is symbolic of royalty, power, might and strength. It is the royal name, the Lion of Judah. The Lion that became the Lamb. It was not as though Jesus was first the Lamb, then became the lion overcoming sin and death, but it is just the opposite. It was the Lion that became the Lamb.

In conclusion, we have seen today that Jesus Christ is both the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world and at the same time He is the Lion of Judah who will rule with righteousness and Justice. He comes to rule, but at the same time he comes to gently carry his lamb. He is the king who is coming in judgment but at the same time He is the gentle lamb, dying for His people.

How could these two disparate attitudes of meekness and sternness coexist? Eventually it hit me: Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb. His gentleness and forthrightness struck the perfect balance because, after all, He Himself was perfect - divine. But how can I, a fleshly human living out my 21st century life, do the same? When do I play the lion, and when do I play the lamb?

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

For thus the Lord said to me, As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.

The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.

The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.

Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?