Not Safe But Good

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." 

"Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion..."

"Safe?" said Mr Beaver..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe explains to Susan that Aslan is not safe. He is a lion after all, able to bite, roar, and mal animals and people, but He is also good. Good Shepherd, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Love. All too often I focus on these safe and comforting names of Jesus, forgetting about His might and power which deserve a holy fear, reverence, and sort of nervousness as Susan describes.

1 Chronicles 13:9-10 records how Israel carried the ark of the covenant their own way instead of how God had commanded them. They didn't get a warning. They weren't told to do better next time. God immediately displayed His power.

...Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God.

He died right there in that instant. Should we be so afraid of messing up that we keep our distance from God? I don't think so, but I would like to have more of a respect and reverence for Him, a holy fear that acknowledges what He is capable of doing.