Our oldest son, Grant, is taking herpetology in high school. In case you have forgotten you list of –ologies, herpetology is the study of reptiles. As part of his work for the class, each six weeks he has the responsibility of caring for a different reptile. So far, all of these animals have been snakes.
If you are like me, right now you are saying, “EWWWH! Snakes!?” I don’t want to touch them. I don’t want to hold them. I don’t want to care for them. I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t exist in the world. I suppose it is a good thing that I am not the creator of the universe, or snakes would have to watch out — they would be on my “hit list.”
And yet, read this:
The 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. 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 asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They 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. Isaiah 11:6-9
We read this passage, and we are enchanted by its peaceful imagery. I wonder if we even consider what it means. What is this “peace” that Isaiah sets forth as a vision of the future kingdom? What is this vision that Christ gives us of loving one another and living in peace, together?
Lions and calves living together, children playing around the nests of snakes, wolves and lambs sharing the same table. When you think about it, it is unimaginable. Unreachable. Certainly, it is not the road God insists that we travel. Is it?
I imagine that, for the people of Judah, who were torn away from their way of life, from their land and their God, the idea of living in peaceful harmony with their enemy seemed not only radical, but impossible. Jonah would rather have been swallowed by a big fish than preach of repentance to the people of Ninevah. Imagine what Ananias, an early disciple of Christ, thought when God told him to head down the road and take care of Saul — Saul, who had been persecuting the followers of Christ. God’s vision of a future peaceful kingdom not only seems impossible for us, but probably is impossible for us, alone.
And yet, born in a stable, over 2000 years ago, was hope. Not just wishes, not just desires, but the hope of the world. Hope. It is the certainty that God exists, that he keeps his promises, and that he can make the impossible, possible.
We are called to love our enemies. Impossible. I would rather touch a snake. But when hope enters my life and fills my heart, the impossible is made possible. Forgiveness becomes a possibility. Grace brings light and love into the picture.
What impossible task is God calling you to do? What unimaginable relationship is now reachable because Hope was born in a stable, died on a cross, and now lives forever?
Kim Matthews
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