L is for LEOPARD

He lay, almost lazily, in the sun and though he seemed disinterested, his eyes never seemed to leave me. His body was a velvet skin of pale yellow covered with a blackish rosette pattern, though his underbelly was, surprisingly, much whiter. His large paws lay stretched out in front of him and he had whiskers to die for. And although he looked as playful and inviting as our pussy cat, experience had taught me otherwise. I knew he was dangerous, his family history doesn't lie, but I wasn't afraid. He seemed equally at home lying haphazardly on an Acacia tree branch or moving stealthily, through the thick undergrowth, blending into the surroundings like he wasn't there. And he never uttered a sound, a silent stalking killer choosing his moment for action. Yet I remained unperturbed, for in truth, watching a wildlife programme on television leaves you somewhat removed from reality. Indeed, seeing through the eyes of a camera lens was my only experience of leopards for they are not particularly prevalent in our zoos or safari parks. The commentator told us how strong they were, how they preferred a diet of small mammals but were not immune to the taste of gazelle and other larger prey and occasionally, when food was in short supply, attacked humans. He told us how they were mainly, but not completely nocturnal, how good swimmers they were and how acute was their sense of smell, sight and hearing, how they lived solitary lives and could remain undetected, even within a few feet.

All of which was more than a little disconcerting when I came face to face with my first leopard in the flesh. It took more than a few minutes to detect him, lying, almost lazily, in the sun, looking disinterested for his camouflage was perfection itself. I guessed, from what I now knew, that he had already picked up my scent and heard my approach, confirming what he had seen in the distance. Yet he made no attempt to move, his tail flapping slightly around some stiff scrub grass in the same way our cat would do when slightly displeased. I presumed he wasn't hungry, though the land rover in which I was sitting with six others had probably deterred him but no more than the ranger riding with the loaded gun on the front bonnet. We circled him, from the safety of our four wheeler, at times no more than six feet from danger, but he never budged, save for the ever moving eyes that kept us under constant surveillance. I felt fear, of the unknown, of what I did know and of what he knew. Only air and a leopard's leap separated us and I wondered how quickly a ranger can use a gun.

God uses the leopard to illustrate that we are helpless to remove our sin when he speaks through Jeremiah to say, 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.' Yet Jesus can change the hearts of those who appear farthest away from the kingdom, for Isaiah prophecies that , 'the leopard will lie down with the kid.' I have never seen a leopard lose its spots and wouldn't trust one with a young lamb but I have seen God change people whom I never thought would embrace his love. You can't hide from Him when he comes looking for you!