The lion roared from the other side of the giant roll-up door…“Reese, Jesus is the Lion of Judah. Today is the day of salvation!” I exclaimed… A roaring lion doesn’t usually bring comfort, but in this case it did.
A
little over a year ago I had the opportunity to take a group of around 40
students on a winter retreat conference. With that many middle and high school
students, a trip is never without its drama but God had some things to teach
and reveal to me that weekend as well as the students. In ministry, I think we
sometimes get this notion (sadly enough) that God is working miraculously in
other places but not so much with us. When we hear stories of awesome things
happening at “my” church or in other parts of the world, we can become
encouraged yet discouraged at the same time. But in the midst of counting
heads, enforcing curfew, and bussing kids around, God was up to something.
On
the second night after the conference was over when all the kids were
exercising their free time, I was surprised to find one group of mostly middle
school boys, and one or two high schoolers, having a serious discussion in
their room. Now when most guys this age have discussions, it usually consists
of (but is not limited to) Minecraft strategy, the zombie apocalypse, or the
latest video game. I mean, I had literally just walked out of my own room of
middle schoolers who were getting ready to play a game of “zombies in the dark” (whatever that
was). But this other group of guys was in the midst of something deep. I came
in and sat on the edge of the couch as the discussion continued unhindered.
Apparently God had been speaking to Reese throughout the weekend about a
relationship with Him. Reese wasn’t interested in just jumping into something
without having thought it through long and hard. I didn’t know Reese very well
because he was just friends with some of our regular attendees. This was only
the second time I had met him. I realized in just a short time though, that
even as a 13 year old, this kid was incredibly deep and contemplative. So, what
was this whole discussion about? Basically Reese had been asking questions
about God, a relationship with Jesus, and living the Christian life while one
by one these other guys took turns answering him. And let me tell you, these
were not your typical middle school answers. These were solid, Biblical ones.
Granted, I might have explained things in a little bit different way but the
beautiful thing about the whole discussion is that I really didn’t have to. As
Christians, we believe we have the Holy Spirit of God residing in each of us,
speaking in us, to us, and through us, no matter the age. I sat there for
nearly an hour with a subtle grin on my face, never uttering a word. This
theological discussion with mostly 13 years olds wasn’t started or finished by
me, and I was the youth pastor.
The
next morning, we attended our last session of the conference. The speaker
shared an incredible message and asked if anyone was interested in having a
relationship with Christ. Reese, along with many others went forward. Myself
and a couple other older youth guys joined him as we filed toward a back room
to talk with him about it. We found a place to stand next to a large
garage-type door among all the people. Reese had thought and prayed more over
his decision since last night and seemed as if he was ready to take that first
step in following Jesus. He then verbalized his desire to have a relationship
with God to the three of us. As soon as he did this however, something strange
and awesome happened that I’ll never forget. A lion began to roar…literally.
Now
before you think I’m some kind of crazy, let me explain. At the Smoky Mountain
Opry Theater where the conference was, there were exotic animals backstage that
weekend for some reason. My guess is it was for some show the following week or
were being temporarily held there because of the large space. Some of the staff
had made a few jokes about it during the weekend but that’s what everyone
though it was, a joke. So, now that you have a sense of our setting, let’s get
back to the story.
The
lion roared from the other side of the giant roll-up door. We all looked at
each other in disbelief and with furrowed brows. I broke the silence with an
epiphany. “Reese, Jesus is the Lion of
Judah. Today is the day of salvation!” I exclaimed. If you have ever heard a
lion roar it is somewhat terrifying but also powerful and awesome. A roaring
lion doesn’t usually bring comfort, but in this case it did. After taking in
the beautiful symbolic realization of that moment, we gathered around Reese and
each prayed for him and then he prayed and asked Christ to lead his life. And
as soon as he said “Amen”, our lion friend gave another roar of approval. It
was perfect. It was beautiful. It was seemingly miraculous. We all hugged Reese
and welcomed him into our family. Just then the side door a few feet away swung
open but there was no one there. I swear my heart skipped a beat. Okay, so it
was probably just the wind and the room was a bit breezy but it did give me
goose bumps I’m not going to lie. We all looked back at each other and just
smiled. We simply knew the presence of God was with us.
Reese
has since been baptized and is involved at a local church. Rama and Jacob were
also a part of Reese’s conversion experience that day but had only been
Christians for a little over a year before that. Reese had expressed his desire
for Jacob to be there with him that day because he had seen how real Jacob’s
faith was to himself. If someone’s faith was that real, then it must be true he
thought. I hope to tell Jacob’s amazing story of transformation in a later
post.
All for now. Many blessings,
All for now. Many blessings,
Kyle
