In response to recent protests, I heard that our president said, “I’m not a king. If I were a king, I’d have a lot less trouble.”
I don’t know about that. What I do know is that a new bitter
root has sprung up to grow another hearty weed. It’s no garden-gracing bloom.
It has no substance. No fruit. It won’t become a mighty oak. For now, it’s a
bit of color on the rocky ground. It does have a good bit of fertilizer to
sustain it. It’s being watered by the same spigot that brought us a few other
weeds in recent years. But it will get mowed down. By a king? By an
authoritarian ruler? More likely it will be taken out by whatever source of
dark money crimps the garden hose. I could take a guess about that, but I’d
rather address this demand for no kings.
Didn’t we do that already? Didn’t the founders of our
country say no to the king of the country they abandoned for the new world?
Have we ever, in our nearly two-hundred fifty years of sovereignty, been
threatened with the forceful installment of a king? We live in a land of no
kings. We don’t have a king. We don’t want a king. We don’t need a king. But thank
you for protesting the obvious.
I say no to kings. If I saw one coming, I’d… Wait, I do see
one coming. And I say, yes King. In photos of the protests over the weekend,
one stood out. Among the homemade and professionally created placards that left
little impression on my sense of reason, one sign caught my attention. It was a
picture of Jesus, not as King, or Savior, but appearing as a fighter. Not the
all-consuming force he will be when he comes, but a street fighter. The
portrait was not impressive as he didn’t really look much like King Jesus, but
the words got me. NO KINGS EXCEPT THIS 1.
YES KING! This is the King the world needs. Not that the world understands. But the church should understand. Christians have parted along battle lines in a world that is not our home. This should not be. Some friends and associates of mine declare that a real Christian would never support our current POTUS. Others insist a true follower of Christ couldn’t possibly stand for the cultural mindset of the disgruntled attention grabbers.
I’m not challenging opinions. Christians are individuals who
view the world from various perspectives. So be it. But our King is coming, and
we should not be so brazenly divided by politics, or the mind-bending media, or
the culture clash of the lost. The lost need to know the truth.
The truth is God appoints rulers, be it kings or presidents.
The truth is the church should pray for our leaders. The truth is that sin is still
sin and Jesus still saves. The truth is the battles we try to fight are only flashpoints
in a spiritual war that will not end until the one true King ends it.
I don’t believe I can change too many minds. But I do
believe Jesus changes everything. I will pray and obey as best I can. I won’t
build my own kingdom. I will seek God’s truth and display it. Because the truth
is, time is short. Use it wisely.
They will
make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord
of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen
and faithful.
Revelation 17:14
