Christ the King

Read Psalm 100.

Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Christian year. We've gone through the whole story and we're about to start it again, but before we do, the church calendar sets aside a day to remember that Jesus is King over all. He's not just Savior, though he is that. He's not just Lord, though he is that. He is King, which means he rules the world with unquestioned authority.

Savior and Lord are much more personal titles (though Lord certainly has wider-ranging implications than just "over me"). But when we get around to talking about Jesus as King, there is a much more cosmic tone to that title. He is King whether we want him to be or not. He has authority whether we want to listen to him or not. That means, in essence, he gets to make the rules. We don't like that. We prefer to make our own rules and elect our own leaders, and certainly when it comes to temporal nations, I do believe free elections are the best method. But when it comes to the eternal kingdom, we need to rely on more than just our own wisdom (we probably need more than our own wisdom in temporal matters these days, too). We need the wisdom, guidance and direction from Someone who sees it all, and that's not me or you or anyone else you might know here. We need the wisdom that only Christ, the Word of God from eternity (see John 1), can bring.

We live in a world, even a church world, that clearly rejects Jesus as King. We might not say it; in fact, during this upcoming Advent season, we'll probably even sing songs that acknowledge Jesus as king. But we live it. In particular, we delight in picking and choosing which parts of Scripture we choose to follow and which we choose to ignore. Granted, Scripture often needs interpreting in light of its cultural context, but rather than do that hard work, we choose to just ignore things we don't like or don't want to take the time to understand. We're rejecting Jesus as King over our lives, and yet he is King of the world whether we want him to be or not.

I don't always get it right. I probably get it wrong far more often than I get it right. But my desire, my heart is to allow Jesus to reign in every area of my life. What about you? Have you forgotten that Jesus is king of the world? What will it take to allow him to take up the throne again in your life?