The Kingdom and the Shadowland

I read Psalm 16 this morning and immediately thought of The Lion King. In this psalm, David offers a prayer of confidence to God. He praises the Lord for safety and protection, for being the source of all good things. 

Then David says this: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.”

There’s an iconic scene in The Lion King where Mufasa leads Simba to Pride Rock. They look out over the Savannah and Mufasa says, “Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom.”

He goes on to tell the young lion cub that one day, Simba will inherit the kingdom.

Jesus says something similar in Matthew 25. “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

When Simba learns of his coming inheritance, he gives a simple one-word answer. “Wow.” It’s hardly an adequate response, but I can relate. Knowing that “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,” (Romans 8:16-17), I find it difficult to verbalize anything more meaningful than “Wow.”

Sadly, that’s not where the comparisons between Simba and me stop. After Mufasa shows his son the greatness of his kingdom—all the lands the light touches—Simba immediately asks for more. “What about the shadowy places?”

“That’s beyond our borders,” Mufasa says. “You must never go there.”

If you’ve watched the movie, you know what happens next. Simba defies his father, leaves the boundary lines set in pleasant places, and that’s when the trouble begins. Mufasa has to leave the Pride Lands to rescue Simba. Later, after more conflict unfolds, Mufasa ends up dying and giving up his own life in order to save his son. 

 Like Mufasa, God presents us with clear boundaries. We are instructed to “walk in the light, as he is in the light,” (1 John 1:5–7) and to “live as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) God’s law is the boundary, and beyond it lies darkness. 

Despite all the goodness of the Pride Lands, all the promises, safety, and goodness, Simba follows temptation, leaves behind the protected area, and enters the Shadowlands. Simba is selfish. He’s reckless. He’s blind to all the gifts his father offers.

Simba is me.

Simba is you, because according to Romans 3, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

I’m glad The Lion King doesn’t end with Simba’s reckless choices or his time wandering in the desert. Those scenes call to mind the Israelites desert wanderings after their escape from Egypt—lost, searching, and uncertain. But the story doesn’t end there. Instead, it ends with Simba receiving forgiveness and extending it to himself. He returns to the Pride Lands and finally steps into the inheritance that was always meant to be his. 

I’m glad my own story doesn’t end with my foray into the Shadowlands—all the times I willingly leave God’s boundaries to figure things out for myself. Instead, God prepared a rescue party for me. He sent his own Son, Jesus, into the darkness, that He might lead me back into the light. 

Romans 3:23 is bad news. “Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence.” But Romans 3:24 delivers Good News. “But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.”

And that’s the story of The Lion King. And it’s the story of Easter. 

The word, Sheol, appears in Psalm 16:10. This is a Hebrew word that translates as “the grave, the pit, or the place of the dead.” A more nuanced translation might call it “a silent, shadowy existence after death.”

In The Lion King the place beyond the boundaries is an elephant graveyard—The Shadowlands.

If you like story and parallelism like I do, I think you’ll enjoy reading the last few verses of Psalm 16 within the context of The Lion King and more importantly in the context of Easter. 

“Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.”

Happy Easter.