Saturday, March 21, 2009

Jesus is King: Even if I Didn't Vote for Him

By David Ryser

“You won’t believe what I just saw!”

I had phoned Tim after seeing a bumper sticker on a car.  I enjoy reading bumper stickers.  Some manage to say so much in so few words.  Especially during an election season.  I find the stickers are far more clever than the candidates.  The sticker read:  “Elect Jesus King of Your Life.”

In the days following, Tim and I had great fun with this.  I phoned him one day and asked, “Have you elected Jesus as King of your life?”    He answered, “No.  I’m a member of the opposition party.”  I laughed!

But, one day, I stopped laughing.

The more I thought about that sticker, over time, the more it troubled me.  The message seems benign enough.  However, it points to a subtle, but dangerous, attitude in the American Church that is inconsistent with the Gospel.

This attitude is, in fact, Gospel poison.

Where does this attitude come from?  Perhaps it originates in our democratic political process.  In our country, we elect our rulers.  We have a choice.  We choose people to represent us.  We choose a president to lead us.

And in our churches, we are exhorted to choose Jesus.

I’ve lost count of the number of church services I have attended where the preacher exhorts the congregation to “make Jesus the Lord of your life.”  Make Jesus Lord of my life?  I have the power to make Jesus Lord?  And what is He if I choose not to make Him Lord?

Since when are kings elected?

The Kingdom of God, as with any other Kingdom, is ruled by an unelected King.  (In biblical times kings ruled as lords, as absolute monarchs, and exercised the power of life and death over their subjects.) The King is Lord over everything and everyone in His Kingdom.  He makes the rules--and He enforces them.  His word is law.  His decisions are final.  He does not solicit the opinion of His subjects on how to run the Kingdom.  A kingdom is not a democracy.

Jesus reigns supreme.  The fact of His Kingship is not in dispute.  His status as King is settled.

But I have some power, right?  Even if I can’t make Jesus King, I do have the choice of whether I will be His subject.  What if I decide not to be a subject in His Kingdom?  What if everyone on earth decides to reject Him as King and refuses to be part of His Kingdom?  Then is He a King?  King over what?

Actually, Jesus has already faced this challenge.

In John 6:26-65, Jesus preached a message that offended even His followers.  As a result, most of His disciples abandoned Him…except for the Twelve (verse 66).  Jesus turned to His remaining twelve disciples and asked them, “Do you also want to go away?” (verse 67).  What would Jesus have done if they had decided to leave?

He would have chosen twelve more disciples and started over.  He doesn’t need us.

I know that sounds harsh, but it’s true.  God loves us passionately and values us highly, but He doesn’t need us.  He is not diminished in any way if we choose not to be part of His Kingdom.  The Kingdom of God, like any other Kingdom, is about the King…not the subjects.

The Kingdom of God is not about us.  The Kingdom of God is about Him!

Jesus is King.  Nothing I do will make Him King, and nothing I do will topple Him from the throne.  My service to Him does not establish His Kingship.  I do not serve Him to make Him King…I serve Him because He is the King.  He is the King whether or not I serve Him.  He doesn’t need me.

The Kingdom of God only needs the King.  Subjects are optional.

So where does that leave us?  We have the honor of being invited to be part of God’s Kingdom.  And not just as servants, but as children of the King.  We have the privilege of being co-laborers with the King in the advancement of His Kingdom on the earth (1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 6:1).  We can choose to be a part of the Kingdom, but we can’t elect the King.

Jesus is Lord.  Jesus is King.  He is King over all of the kings, and He is Lord over all of the lords (Revelation 19:16).

Even if I didn’t vote for Him.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

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