Babies and Adders
It’s a stunning vision of the future that Isaiah promises us. Wolves and lambs. Lions and calves. Babies and deadly snakes. And not one is harmed. “They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:9a, click here for the full passage) is God’s promise through Isaiah.
Death, suffering, one living on at the expense of another, all will go away. In the Kingdom of God, we will all live in peace and nothing that diminishes one will build up another. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful change in our world today!?
How will this come about? Isaiah tells us. “For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:9b)
Don’t misread this. It is not that the earth will be full of knowledge about the Lord. We will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. Think of it as the difference between reading a biography of some historical figure and having been married to that person for 50 years.
The promise is not that we will be brilliant theologians, quoting chapter and verse from the Bible, knowing all about God. The promise is that we will know God directly, intimately, and in a way that actually changes us. Apparently that is not just a promise for us! Apparently, all of God’s creation will share in this knowledge! Lions, lambs, babies and adders.
When this world becomes exhausting, and there seems no good path forward, remember this promise, this vision! This is where we are headed!
This column appeared in the December 8, 2019 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
