The only lions I have ever met have lived at the zoo. I’ve only respected and admired these creatures from a safe distance, through iron fences and thick glass.

Encountering one up-close-and-personal would be an entirely different matter. Can you imagine?

For one thing, lions are the second largest cats in the world, passed only by tigers. Male lions weigh up to 575 pounds, and females up to 395. They often measure eight feet long—head and body—and stand up to four feet tall.

The lion’s eyes are set laterally on its head to provide a good angle of vision. In other words, it can see you.

Its inner ear has a long mobile pinna able to localize a sound source. Translation: It can hear you.

Its nostrils are large, and it has complex nasal passages. It can smell you.

It can run at 50 mph and leap 35 ft. It can catch you.

Its massive limbs are built for attack. It can easily kill you, if it so wishes.

In Isaiah 31, the prophet likens our God to a lion. He warns God’s people not to turn to the Egyptians for help because something much stronger is available to them. Their terror of the Assyrians is put into perspective when the Israelites realize that their God is a lion….

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Today I’m over at Facets of Faith, joining the conversation about The Lion and the Lamb. Come on over, read all four posts on the topic, and be blessed!