妻子卡莉把我叫到窗邊，指著在我家籬笆外的一隻成年母鹿說：「我真不敢相信自己看到了什麼！」籬笆靠近樹林，這隻母鹿就在外面沿著院子的籬笆奔跑跳躍，從一端跳到另一端。在籬笆內跟著牠來回奔跑的則是我家的幾隻大狗，但牠們都沒有吠，只是來回跟著母鹿跑了將近一個鐘頭。母鹿停下來看著狗兒們，狗兒也停下來，把前腳伸直，翹起臀部，準備再次奔跑。這不是獵食者和獵物的行為，那隻母鹿和狗兒是一起玩耍，享受彼此的陪伴！

我和卡莉都認為，這早晨的嬉戲為我們描繪了將來上帝國度的景象。關於這個國度，先知以賽亞宣告上帝應許說：「看哪，我造新天新地」（以賽亞書65章17節）。接著他又說：「豺狼必與羊羔同食，獅子必吃草與牛一樣」（25節）。到那日，不再有獵食者，也不再有獵物，大家都是朋友。

以賽亞的話似乎告訴我們，在上帝永恆的國度中會有動物。同時也顯示出上帝為受造物，尤其是為「愛祂的人」所預備的一切（哥林多前書2章9節）。那將是多麼美好的地方！當我們憑信心倚靠上帝時，祂就會讓我們看見將來的真實景況：在祂面前能享有平安與保障，直到永永遠遠！

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” My wife, Cari, called me to the window and pointed out an adult doe in the woods just outside our fence, bounding from one end of our yard to the other. Keeping pace beside her inside the fence were our large dogs, but they weren’t barking. Back and forth they went, for nearly an hour. When the doe paused and faced them, the dogs stopped also, straightening their front legs and crouching back on their haunches, ready to run again. This wasn’t predator and prey behavior; the doe and the dogs were playing together, enjoying each other’s company!

To Cari and me, their morning romp provided a picture of the coming kingdom of God. The prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s promise of that kingdom with the words, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). He goes on to say that “the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (v. 25). No more predator, no more prey. Just friends.

Isaiah’s words seem to show us that there will be animals in God’s eternal kingdom; they also point to what God is preparing for His creation, especially “for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). What a beautiful place that will be! As we trust in Him by faith, God lifts our eyes to the reality that’s coming: peace and safety in His presence forever!