A Parable about Two Lions
(the Prologue from The Christian Man, Zondervan)
Once upon a time, a lion lived contently in a zoo. Born there, he had never known any other way of life. And it was a good life—all the red meat he could eat, regular physical exams, and fresh straw every day.
One day, another lion—one captured in the wild—was brought into the habitat. Every day, the jungle lion paced back and forth looking for a way to escape, growing more restless each passing day.
The zoo lion, unable to understand why the wild lion was so upset, asked, “Why so blue? Everything we need for a happy life we have right here. What else could you possibly want? Why do you want to escape from paradise?”
The wild lion couldn’t believe his ears. How could he possibly explain freedom to a zoo lion who had never seen a jungle—a lion living in exile who thought he already had everything he could want? How could he convey that there’s more to life than living like a caged animal?
In the months that followed, the jungle lion opened the zoo lion’s eyes with stories about life in the wild. The more the zoo lion heard about the jungle, the more he wanted to know. He peppered the jungle lion with questions like, “How big is it? What’s it like? How do you get there from here?” and a hundred more just like those.
The jungle lion was sometimes eager, and always patient, to explain the glories of the jungle to the zoo lion who had only known captivity. Under such intentional mentoring, the zoo lion soon came to see that something about his world just wasn’t right. He too became restless and longed to be free.
WANT TO DIG DEEPER?
NEW! The Christian Man: Discussion and Application Guide
Twenty four Christian men from all walks of life gave input to The Christian Man by answering the question, “What issues and topics would you like to see addressed in a book for men?” The just published Discussion and Application Guide for the book will enable you to systematically dig deeper into the issues really important to you and help you become more of the man God created you to be. The Discussion and Application Guide includes an outline of each chapter in The Christian Man, along with additional reflection and discussion questions to help you apply the chapter material. These are not simply fill-in-the-blank questions, but will challenge you to think deeply about your own life now and what you want your life to become! Ideal for individual study and small groups.
