A Good Day

A day at the zoo is always a good day—even if you’ve been there before. It’s fun for young and old alike to walk through the exhibits and see hundreds —and sometimes thousands!—of God’s creatures from different continents and climates all in one place. Zoos are an amazing attraction.

When you go to the zoo, everybody has that animal that they really want to see. What’s yours? Comment below with a picture of the one animal you have to see.

Here in the Valley, we’re blessed with two great zoos, two great places to see your favorite wild and exotic animals. Even some of the smaller towns and cities around us also feature spaces where local plants and animals are displayed to the public. Do you realize how rare seeing these remarkable creatures really is?

Paris, France is home to the oldest continuously-running modern zoo. During the French Revolution, the special, rare, and exotic animals that only the most well connected people had ever seen was seized, relocated, and opened up to the public. But it didn’t look like the zoos we go to today. They kept animals in these tiny cages. Early zoos felt more like museums. Today zoos have a larger footprint and give animals more room to roam. That’s why you can spend a full day at the zoo and still not see all the animals. It’s a great place to get some fresh air, get in your steps, and get a chance to see God’s creatures up close and personal.

But all zoos still must have barriers. Some keep the visitors a safe distance from the animals. Others keep predator and prey separated. It has to be this way. Even a big place, without fences, plexiglass, and other barriers would descend into chaos and bloodshed for the animals.

But how cool would it be if you could walk right into the cages with the big cats? How neat would it be if you get a real bear hug or ride a rhino?

This may sound like the daydreaming of children with wild imaginations, but it’s not just that. In Isaiah 11, God rolls out the renewing effects of his plan of redemption. And he paints a spectacular scene. Predator and prey live in perfect harmony. The hunter and the hunted hunker down in the same place. There is no need to keep curious little hands at a safe distance. Things are different. New.

Let me read what God promises eternity will be like.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

Even though we’ve been to zoos, it’s still hard to imagine how this would all work. We are accustomed to a world where only the fittest survive. We only know a world where God’s creatures tear each other apart. Why is this?

The Scriptures tell us Adam and Eve’s sin had far-reaching effects. It didn’t just impact people. Everything was fouled up. All creation has been subjected to the frustrating existence of living in bondage to decay. Many animals must live with a kill-or-be-killed orientation. We may try to soften the blow by calling it “the circle of life”—but this is not how God designed his creation to function. One day, God promises, all his creatures will live in perfect peace with one another.

How will this be? The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. So what does God mean by this? What does it mean to know the Lord? When we study the things that God has made we learn that he is wise. He has thought through how his creation would work together. Even in its fallen state, it’s amazing to see how interdependently everything has been designed. And it hasn’t just worked that way for a few years. Generations upon generations have marveled at God’s creation. But to know the Lord is more than to just know that he exists. To know the Lord is to know the one who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. To know the Lord is to know the one who sustains all things through his powerful word. To know the Lord is to know Jesus.

Jesus is the little child who came to lead us into this peace. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He never gave into temptation, from the people around him or the prince of darkness. He sacrificed himself for our sins on the cross and rose to life so that we might know the peace that passes all understanding. This is what we celebrate this Christmas, how Christ is leading us to a place of unimaginable peace, where man and beast will live at peace with God and one another. That will be a good day—one we will enjoy for eternity.