Daniel in the Lions' Den
I can still remember the flannel graph boards when I was a child, showing Daniel in a deep cave filled with lions. (I'm sorry if you don't know what a flannel graph board is--I suppose I am showing my age! It was a board made of flannel, to which paper characters could be positioned to illustrate a story. We didn't have iPads when I was a kid.) Anyway, as a child, I was like Eero, my grandson, looking at snow and exclaiming, "I am so proud of God!" What wonder--God could make a man-eating lion as gentle as a kitten! Good lessons for a child to grow up hearing.I am older now, and the story of Daniel in a den of lions still moves me, but for different reasons. Like any good story, it reaches us at different places, no matter what our age or circumstance. At the end of the day, it is not really principles that move us, but stories. When I read this story now, what is compelling to me is what got Daniel into this mess in the first place!Daniel found himself in such a predicament because he took seriously the call of God on his life to do good work and bless the nation that destroyed his homeland, making him a prisoner while he was only a boy. That's right: by his work, Daniel was actually blessing his enemies and helping them prosper! God blesses him in this until he is asked to directly disobey God, and then the trouble starts.Do you ever think about how you can bless people right where you are? Do you ever think that most of what God is equipping you for in life is happening on the job, in the neighborhood, or in parents' organizations to which you belong? Well, it is all there in the story of Daniel and his sleepover with the lions. If you are here Sunday, you will hear the rest of the story....