God showed me something about Himself over the holidays. I was reading off and on a book He Shall be Called, by Robert J. Morgan. Its a devotional book with 150 names of Jesus. One of his names is "King". Morgan reminds us that there are two types of kings in the world. There are kings that are parliamentary monarchs, those that are really there for show. They are surrounded by respect and grandeur but really have no power, like the Queen of England. (I personally think she has more power than the rest of the world gives her credit for.) And then there are those that are absolute monarchs, they run their country, their authority is supreme. Morgan points out that most Christians treat Jesus as a parliamentary monarch. He looks nice, we respect him, go to worship him once a week, but we don't give him authority in our lives. OUCH! He really is our absolute monarch, has ultimate authority whether we acknowledge it everyday or not.
Christmas Eve, our pastor Steve preached about almost the same thing. He pointed out that many people are fine with making Jesus their Savior, but not so game about making him their King. To follow a king, we have to be a servant, obedient, submissive, humble, be willing to sacrifice if the king asks you to. We want him to save us from hell and the struggles of this earth, but not if it calls us to be a servant.
I know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but there is conviction of sin, and I have been convicted for weeks about this issue. It all came back today again. I am a control freak. I don't think about that side of me as a bad thing many times, but today it hit me in the face. If I am honest, I want to control everything around me, and when I can't or people don't cooperate, I get really upset and frustrated and my pride gets hurt. And when it comes to the King, I have good days and bad days of letting him be in control. I have had more bad days than good over the last few months, but its time to make a change. May you reign in my life Lord as King, on your throne. Forgive me for moving you off of it. Convict me this week when I try to take that place back. Thank you for not giving up on me. May I truly be a daughter of a King by the way I live my life, not just a title I give myself.
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