A Lion on the Loose

Probably one of the most frequent questions we were asked before moving to Africa 3 years ago was....'are there lions just roaming around over there still?'. The touristy, politically correct answer to the question is (in a reassuring voice), "NO, NO, NO, all the dangerous animals are safely kept in national parks, like Kruger Park, etc." After all....we don't want to scare off our visitors:-).

(Kruger Park - September 2001)

Now that we have lived here a while, I still have no desire to meet a lion while I am out and about in the business of life. However, strange as it may be, we are not so weirded out anymore at the thought of lions being kept in close proximity to where we live. That is, until we read articles like this.... http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,157000,00.html
Yes, folks, the truth is sometimes these ravenous beasts DO indeed escape the parks and dwell amongst the locals. These particular 4 that escaped a month ago have already killed around 50 head of cattle, that we know about:-). My question is....how many lions escape the many private game reserves and national parks that are never reported to the public??? After all, how do you maintain fences on a 7,700 square mile park to make sure all the animals stay in (ha, ha, and that's only ONE of the MANY parks that have lions!!!)

Anyway, you can put your minds at ease, I can assure you that we have never seen any lions roaming around anywhere, except inside the parks. But, the problem is not with the lions that you see....it is the ones that see you first:-). When I read the article, it reminded me of I Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." Why are people so alarmed by a kitty cat with big teeth, on the loose, yet they rarely give one thought to the spiritual lion who is stalking their soul. The truth is that the devil is a far more dangerous foe than any lion ever thought of being. We do well to heed the warning of God today. The devil is looking to devour your life. He is looking to devour your purity, your morality, your posterity, and worst of all, your eternity. He is doing everything possible to keep you from entering into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. He will do everything in his power to steal, kill, and destroy your life for God. Jesus Christ is your only protection from the Devil. There is no fence that can contain him, or place that you can hide from him. You must flee to Jesus Christ for the protection of your eternal soul.