A Peaceable Kingdom

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11. 1 - 10

Oh how we long for this passage from Isaiah to describe our world. In this reading, the prophet Isaiah suggests this is what the future of God's kingdom will be when God's reign is fully consummated. This scene is what we are waiting for, this harmony is what we are called to create.

If a wolf and a lamb can lie down together, surely human beings can set aside discord and be in relationship together. If a child can play over the nest of a poisonous snake, surely mothers and fathers can set aside differences to bring families together. And if this was a promise predicted by an eighth century BCE prophet, surely it is time for us to fulfill it in our world.

Surely, surely, surely...

The Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks