Dead Lions

King Richard I of England was called “Lionheart” due to his reputation for bravery. But there’s more hope for you and me at this moment than for King Richard.   

Whatever courageous acts earned him his title are good for history lessons, but they can’t help the king or anyone he could have influenced in his lifetime.

King Richard is dead.

And according to fellow King Solomon, “There’s more hope for whoever is joined with all the living, since a live dog is better than a dead lion.” Ecclesiastes 8:4.  

We’ve got to watch out for dead lions. They can have sharper teeth than living ones. If you’re not careful, they will lure you away from your Living Hope.

They disguise themselves as stories of past glories that we tell ourselves. Our exploits that have long since faded like King Richard’s golden crown.

“Remember when we prayed all night and God moved miraculously?”

Dead lion.

“Or the time when we served our community and saw families healed?”

Dead lion. 

“What about my granddad, who loved God with all his heart and passed that legacy on to me?”

Dead lion.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying those memories aren’t beautiful, or even sacred. But they happened yesterday. And we tend to get hung up on yesterday’s victories, to cling to our dead lions.

But God is ever-present. “Behold, I am doing a new thing.” Isaiah 43:19. God is seeking fresh lions. If you are living, that’s you.

New battles require new Lionhearts.