The Kingship of Jesus...
If not, why? How would your life change, do you think, if He were your King?
If so, how do you know? What does that mean to you...today?
We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday. This is quite possibly my favorite Sunday out of the year! I'm always excited & ready for Holy Week to come...what would I be without the resurrection? Dead. In my sin. In absolute bondage to my self-centered ego and ridiculous silly logic as the trajectory of my life. I would be filled with selfish purpose, greed and self-preservation. I would live in fear of others and their opinions. I would live obsessed with status and getting ahead. Sin. Dead in my Sin.
My living began not 43 years ago on December 7th, 1978 when my mom labored for my earthly entrance. That was the beginning of the hope of my living. As we all were, I was born with a sin nature and so if what I believe is true, I was born in death. That's a happy thought right there! My actual living began 7 years later on Easter Sunday. That is the day I became Jesus' infant and His Kingship began in my heart. My family settled in that night to watch the movie, "Jesus of Nazareth," on prime time TV. Back then it was still acceptable for Jesus to be seen in public. At age 7 I knew the story well enough that at the scene of Judas' betrayal of Jesus I went to hide behind my mom's bright orange rocker recliner, in all it's 70's decorative greatness! I knew what was coming and I didn't want to watch it. I didn't want to see Jesus beaten. I didn't want to see them mock Him. I didn't want to see the crown of thorns placed on His head. I didn't want to see Him carry His cross. I didn't want to see Him lay upon it willingly and the nails they drove into His hands and feet. I didn't even want to hear the sounds. I sat behind that orange chair with my fingers in my ears trying to block out the sounds and my imagination of what was happening on the screen at that moment.
But I could not block out what was happening in my heart right then.
I could not block out the beating heart of Jesus that was pouring revelation into my 7 year old spirit of how great His love is for me. I couldn't block out the Holy Spirit speaking and telling me that as I hid behind that chair He saw me...and the tears began to flow. I remember silently saying to Jesus over and over again, "No! Don't do it, Jesus! Don't let them do this! Why did You do that? Why did You die like that?"
I knew at that moment that my name was the answer to those questions and that Jesus came to rescue me. I needed rescuing. I needed a Savior King.
I've never been a great fan of crying or emotion and so as the tears started running down my cheeks and I could no longer hide the sounds of my sniffles, I ran upstairs to hide further in my bedroom...I didn't want anyone to see, I didn't want anyone to know that I was crying. Why was I crying? Because I knew what was in my heart and that I needed Jesus to fix it. My mom came upstairs and explained to me what was happening and asked me if I wanted to make Jesus my Lord, my King. That was the moment I was born, I began living. I've been on a very choppy, very messy, slow-learning, mistake-filled, grace-covered journey ever since, purposing to serve Jesus as my King.
The Kingship of Jesus is the purpose for me. There is no other direction. There is no other way but Him. Without His Kingship my life will crumble back to the dust from where it was first drawn from. It is meaningless without Him. MEANINGLESS. The King and His Kingdom give me identity...my true identity. I identify with Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. I identify as His daughter, His bride, His friend. I identify as His servant, His ambassador who lives to make this earth look like Him. I identify as part of His very body, an extension of His character alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ. I identify as His light in darkness, a royal priest who declares the praises of Him so that those who don't know Him will want to, extending from my home, to my church, to my city, to my country, to all nations as He directed the first disciples.
I am in a difficult season right now, yet my spirit is giddy entering this Holy Week. I am excited. I am grateful. I am remembering my great need for Jesus' saving work on the cross. I am again accepting the truth that I need more of the Kingship of Jesus in my life. I have not arrived, but as Paul said in Philippian 3:12, I press on to grab hold of that which Jesus Christ made available for me.
Happy Easter!
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