Bold as a Lion

When I found this picture it made me think of Proverbs 28:1. "The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion." I spent a little while thinking on this verse and drew the conclusion that if you have nothing to hide, then there obviously is no reason not to be bold. I was especially thinking of this verse along the lines of approaching the "throne of Grace."

In Hebrews 4:14-16 Paul talks about our Great High Priest, Jesus, through whom we can present all of our concerns to God. "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (verse 16)." The Christian should not hesitate to approach God-in fact we are encouraged to draw near and are told that we can do so with confidence! Philippians 4:6 says "...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." How is it that we are able to do this? It is because when God looks at the Christian He does not see a sin-stained person. Our sins are forgotten because they have been covered over by the blood of Christ! Psalm 103:12 "...as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." The wicked can certainly not lay claim to this. They would not dare approach the throne of Grace because their guilt would not allow it, nor would God.

To sum this all up, in Revelation chapter 5 Christ is referred to as the "Lion of Judah." I found it interesting that because of the Lion of Judah, the Christian can approach the throne of God with the boldness of a lion. Of course I believe that there is still reverence that must be maintained when dealing with a Holy God. But I also believe that there is far more liberty for the Christian in approaching God than he/she may realize. After all, we not only call him "God," we also call him "Father."