Christ the King

Stop

What does “Christ the King” mean?

Listen

Romans 14:17–19 (NRSV)

17 For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. 19 Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Reflect

We just celebrated Christ the King Sunday.

Christ the King. Ponder that.

Close your eyes for a moment and try to imagine a king. What do you see?

My guess is that you see gold, fancy clothes, a crown, and someone surrounded by an air of power and authority. A King is a person with supreme power.

The old saying is: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Most human kings couldn’t handle that kind of power, therefore most human kingdoms ended up becoming oppressive systems that used and abused humans for the sake of preserving and expanding the domination of the kingdom over others.

Jesus is not that kind of King. The Apostle Paul told us that Jesus gave up that kind of power and emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:4-8). John showed us that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet (John 13) and told them to do likewise.

The crown that Jesus wore was made of thorns. He absorbed the violence of corrupt power into his own body on the cross. He conquered Sin and Death, not with violence, but with sacrificial love.

This is the King we follow.

Pray

Christ our King, we thank you that you rule with love, truth, and peace. Give us the courage to live in your kingdom today.

Carry On

How can you take the towel of Jesus today and seek ways the make for peace and mutual upbuilding in your spheres of influence?