Lions and Lambs

While reading a favorite blog "The Anchoress" I came across the following:

From Isaiah 11:1-9
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jessie, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and His delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall He judge, not by hearsay shall He decide, but He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around His waist, and faithfulness a belt upon is hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lied own with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea.

She then attributed the following to an anonymous contributor:
What is so new about the promised “mountain of the Lord” is not that the wolf and the lamb are both there, but that the wolf remains a wolf and the lamb a lamb, and yet they dwell together without harm or hurt in God’s kingdom. Under God’s rule, conversion and obedience do not mean the loss of identity but the discovery of our true identity as one in Christ.

I've never taken the time to recognize or realize this truth...We belong to God in Christ but He means for us to remain individual. He does not call us to be "cookie cutter" Christians but to be what we can with His help. He equips each of us differently but with the same purpose. What a lovely meditation of Advent...show me Father how to be the best ME I can for your Kingdom...