A Final Word (#96 of 365+)

What is it that makes teenagers do crazy things? Is it the surge of hormones rushing through their bodies that make them think they’re invincible? Or is it more a combination of youth and
inexperience? I’m not talking about my sixteen-year-old son though—I’m talking about me when I was a teen! I was born-again at the age of fourteen and became a sincere “Jesus Freak” for a period of time. Once, when I was about seventeen, I was driving down a winding road one day when I came up behind an intimidating character. He looked large and menacing, at first. He was on a big Harley motorcycle and he wore all the typical biker gear from the kerchief on his head to his big black boots. His bushy beard and dark sunglasses would do a good job of concealing his identity if he decided to commit a crime. As I was looking back and forth between the road ahead and this poor soul who I assumed didn’t know the Lord, what captured my imagination for all time were the words on the back of his vest: “Lion of the Tribe of Judah”. I remembered reading that phrase somewhere in the Bible, and knew it was a name for Jesus Christ! My curiosity got the best of me. I insistently motioned for him to pull over. And he did.

“Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals’” (Revelation 5:5)

As the biker got off his motorcycle there was reason for fear because he was a very large man, close to seven feet tall! When I asked him about the words on his vest he explained that he was a born-again Christian and “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” was the name of his motorcycle club. The idea of a Christian biker was a novel idea to me so I asked a few more questions about that and he patiently answered all my questions. As we talked for a few more minutes, I learned he was on his way to a doctor’s appointment. He was suffering from severe back pain, apparently an old injury from his former life. Before we parted ways “Lurch” (that was what all his friends called him) gave me the name of his biker church that played late-70’s- and early-80’s-style worship music of the rock genre.

More than a decade later I met a member of the biker church at a Christian league softball game and asked how Lurch was doing. The man told me that Lurch’s marriage appeared to be in trouble because his wife had left town without him. Being a good Christian and loving his wife as Christ loves the Church, Lurch left everything and everyone behind so he could follow her all the way to another state. Even if she didn’t want him anymore he still wanted to be near in case she ever changed her mind. As I type this my eyes are welling up with tears. I pray that God blesses my brother Lurch and his wife today…

Although I’m sure that Christian biker man is flawed too just like the rest of us, when I hear “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” I can’t help but think of Lurch. Much about him, including his fierce presence and a heart to match, strongly resembles qualities in my Savior. In addition to that, he is a man well-acquainted with life's pain and sorrow but has the courage to keep going forward. As Joni said about the day when we will finally see the real Lion of the Tribe of Judah with our very own eyes, “Every tear will be wiped away”. She also said, “If you faced deep heartache and disappointment this year… Let this fact encourage you for the weeks and months ahead. Commit afresh and anew to deepen your walk with Jesus Christ in the new year, preserving for yourself ‘an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you’ (1 Peter 1:4)”.

Lord, thank you for the comfort provided by your Word. As I await your return, that glorious day when all of life’s pain and sorrow will turn into inexpressible joy, give me courage and bravery—increase my faith in your power—and mold me more and more into your image every day. Amen!