Andy and the Lion

Bible Reading: Matthew 5:1-10

One day as the crowds were gathering, Jesus went up the mountainside with his disciples and sat down to teach them. This is what he taught them. . . . God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. - Matthew 5:1-2,7.

THE People of ancient Rome told the story of Androcles, a slave whose master was cruel. Androcles ran away and hid in the woods for a long time. He was happy to be free but had a hard time finding food, so he began to get hungry and weak. Finally, convinced that he was dying, Androcles crawled into a dark cave and lay down to sleep.

He was awakened by the loud roar of a lion that had entered the cave. Androcles thought the lion was going to eat him, but he watched in fascination as the lion limped in circles around the cave, constantly whimpering and occasionally roaring in pain.

When the great creature finally lay down, Androcles approached the lion care­fully. To his surprise, the lion allowed him to gingerly lift the injured paw. Androcles discovered that a long, sharp thorn had lodged itself in the lion's paw. With one quick motion, he pulled the thorn out. The lion licked the tender paw while Androcles still held it in his hand, and soon both man and animal fell asleep.

The next morning the lion brought food to Androcles, and it continued to do so every day until a band of soldiers came into the cave and recognized Androcles as an escaped slave. The soldiers arrested him and took him to Rome.

In those days runaway slaves were forced to fight wild animals in the Colosseum for the entertainment of the people. After a few days in prison, Androcles was taken to the Colosseum. His guards dragged him out into a dirt arena and left him alone. He trembled as he heard the roars of a hungry beast.

Finally, a gate was opened at the other end of the arena, and a mighty lion raced in, roaring and baring his teeth. The creature leaped upon Androcles in a single bound as the crowd watched in astonishment to see Androcles and the lion he had befriended roll over and over in the dirt in a happy reunion. When the crowd heard the slave's story, they cried out for Androcles and the lion to be set free, and they were.

This fable illustrates an important truth. Jesus put it this way: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7, NIV). The person who shows mercy to others often receives mercy back, while the person who refuses mercy to others is cheated out of many good things.

It's just another way that obeying God's commands protects us and provides for us.

REFLECT: Have you ever been blessed by someone who has shown you mercy? Have you returned that blessing? Have you ever been blessed by being merciful to someone else?

The Fear of the Lord

Verse of the Day: "The fear of The Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding" - (Job 28:28). 


"You learn something new every day, you know that?" Brad slapped his friend, Andrew, on the back as he sat beside him in the youth group room at their church.


Andrew tossed his head to brush his hair out of his eyes and look at his friend. "You sound like my dad."


"Have you ever heard adults talk about 'the fear of God'?"


"Yeah," Andrew answered. "So?"


"Well, for the first time in my life, I think I understand what they're talking about. . . . You remember how Mr. Phillips started our first driver's ed. class last Tuesday?"


"Yeah," Andrew said with a shrug. "He gave us some speech about how we should 'be afraid, be very afraid' when we get behind the wheel of a car."


"Right! He said we should respect driving, because, while driving a car could be really good for us-getting us to school, taking us to the amusement park, stuff like that—it could also take our life or our passengers' lives away like that—" he snapped his fingers—"if we're not responsible drivers."


"Yeah," Andrew said, as if waiting for the punch line of a joke. "He said we're not ready to drive a car until we're 'afraid, very afraid.' So?"


"Well, I was reading my Bible this morning, and I came across the verse that says, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' And for the first time, I understood what the fear of God is all about. It's not being scared of him, but it's realizing that he's God, he has the power of life and death, and he's the judge of good and evil."


Andrew smiled and nodded with understanding.


"So," Brad finished, "just like we're not ready to drive a car until we 'fear' it, we're not ready to know and serve God until we understand how awesome and powerful he is."


"And how happy we should be that he loves us," Andrew said.


TO DO: As a family, come up with your own definition of what it means to "fear the Lord." Then hang your definition in a place where everyone will be sure to see it.