Who Rules?
We throw the term “King” around a lot. People name their dogs “King.” (Cats think they’re kings. But the name “Princess” is more likely for the felines). We’re quick to dub someone “King” of this or that. There’s the “King of Rock,” the “King of Pop,” “the King of Beers,” and “King of the Hill.” You get the idea. “King” can be a trivial expression. But there are still actual kings in the world.
In Europe and the Middle East, we still find kings in the political sense. Monarchs ascend to the thrones of their countries, sometimes serving alongside Presidents, Prime Ministers, and more modern embodiments of national leadership. For example, we recently watched King Charles ascend to the throne in England. Depending upon the land or nation-state, these monarchs carry varying levels of actual power over the lives of their subjects.
Whether you live in the dominion of an earthly king or not, you live under some king’s rule. Never mind if you believe or not, you do. Furthermore, despite not consciously choosing a king, you have one seated on the throne of your life. We all do. The only real variable is the kind of king.
There are variations of kings. Some are harsher than others and maybe even physically deadly. But generally, kings fall into two major categories: True and counterfeit. Only One falls into the first classification. The rest are pretenders to the throne.
The one True King, the One who is ultimately healthy and not a threat to your life, the King that doesn’t fake being benign only to spring an eternity of torture upon you, is Jesus Christ. The benefits of choosing Jesus as King, as opposed to any other king, are heavenly and last forever. So why doesn’t everyone do it?
The reason everyone doesn’t choose King Jesus is that the other kings fight vehemently to keep their power! Jesus doesn’t force the issue; One must select His Lordship. And kings don’t give up their thrones easily. Once they set up shop in someone’s life, they crave ruling over their domains and will fight tooth and nail to maintain authority.
For example, there was King Herod. Threatened by the Messiah’s birth, he feared his own family might jeopardize his rule. Suspecting his wife and two brothers-in-law of treason, he had them mercilessly killed. Despite being the “religious leader” of Israel, Herod entered into no less than nine marriages to protect his political strength and satisfy his lustful lifestyle.
Herod is a historical, earthly, flesh-and-blood example of the principalities and powers that rule people’s lives every day. They have a firm grip on individuals and will do what is necessary to maintain it. Sometimes it makes “the slaughter of the innocents” pale compared to the cruel lengths to which they’ll go. All to try to eliminate Christ’s influence in the lives of those they control! It’s not easy to say “no” to counterfeit kings.
One of the most devious things about counterfeit kings is their apparent appeal. On many levels, they appear to offer more than King Jesus. Their gratification is immediate rather than in a future heaven. Their lifestyle seems much more fashionable—the boundaries are so broad, the thinking so rational in the world’s eyes.
Then life happens. The currency of the counterfeit kings doesn’t spend. When needed, the fakes aren’t there. But Jesus came as a King who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
When one reaches for the True King, He is there. He came to heal the kinds of wounds the counterfeits can’t cure, the same wounds they inflict.
So choose your king carefully. Today your king may seem adequate, entirely satisfactory, perhaps excellent. But if your king is not King Jesus, defection, immediate desertion, is your only hope. The sooner, the better. Apart from Christ, we are all citizens of a doomed kingdom. But Jesus waits, arms open wide, willing to welcome, ready to heal. That’s what our King does.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.”
–Isaiah 61:1