Dead Lions and Living Dogs

The book of Ecclesiastes has great wisdom for people living life under the sun today.  One of the statements which struck me recently was, "A living dog is better than a dead lion."  The preacher (whom many identify as king Solomon) explained in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6:  "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun."  Those who are living today have hope and knowledge those in the grave no longer share, and their memory will fade in time.

Lions have long been revered as an apex predator, and thus lions have been given the acclaimed moniker of the "King of Beasts."  The bark of a large dog can travel a couple of kilometres, but the roar of a lion can be heard some 8 kilometres away!  A lion is larger, more powerful and a more fearsome hunter than a stray dog, yet a living dog is better than a dead lion.  The dog and lion comparison was an illustration to demonstrate the value of people who live today.  There are many famous and powerful people who have gone to the grave, and while their monuments and memories remain there is nothing more they can do.  It is the living who possess the opportunity to live in light of their mortality and make the most of life today.

In the Bible and our lives there are many people we respect and admire, heroes of the faith through whom God did marvellous things.  We would like to have their mantle upon us; we would desire a double portion of their spirit and effectiveness in ministry!  There have been leaders and prophets like Moses whose shoes were impossible to fill, yet that is not what God called Joshua or any of us to do.  Joshua was not to pattern his life after Moses, but to lead the children of Israel by faith in God and obedience to Him.  Moses the servant of God who lead the Hebrews out of Egypt was dead, and Joshua was called by God to lead them into the land of promise.  Joshua could do what Moses could not do because he was alive and still had a share in life under the sun.

The same is true for believers in Jesus Christ today.  We might see ourselves as a timid toy poodle in comparison to lions of the faith in Scripture or people used mightily by God who have preceded us into eternity, but a living dog is better than a dead lion.  Because of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Jesus Christ, we have been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit Who empowers us to by Christ's witnesses and do God's will.  The world does not need another Paul or Barnabas but for us to yield to Christ and be the person He created us to be.  By God's grace, our lives can supply a personal testimony for Jesus Christ that has more influence on those around us than all the biographies, documentaries and quotes of the fathers of faith who have finished their race on this earth.  Let us make the most of this brief season of influence we have upon the earth for God's glory because of the living hope we have in Jesus Christ.