As we celebrate the coming of King Jesus all during the month of December on Kinship Christian Radio, I cannot help but think of the glory of this marvelous time of year.
If you think about it, this great and glorious King who created the universe and everything in it made His people free. He gave them a beautiful garden to live in and work in and care for. He did not create them as subjects, but as His own children who had a perfect relationship with Him, not as Tyrant King but as their loving Father. They were free to enjoy all the great bounty and marvelous benefits of the Garden with only one rule to obey: Do not, by eating of that one tree in the center of the garden, try to make yourselves kings.
It was a completely reasonable and just rule.
In essence, the King asked that the children He had created, the people He loved and had given a perfect relationship with, not commit treason.
But they did.
And when they did, He did not cut them off from relationship with them. He did not disown them, but He did cast them out of the Garden.
In doing so, He gave them what they had asked for. He gave them the opportunity to be their own kings. He let them rule themselves with their new-found knowledge of good and evil.
And it became obvious that, despite how wise they thought they were, things went horribly wrong under their own rule. It went so wrong that all the people in all the earth did evil all the time, save for one man and his family. And, despite the thought that He should destroy them all, He started over again with just eight of them.
And when they started over, they still failed to rule themselves justly and righteously, and they were taken away as slaves. But He heard their cries, freed them from their slavery, and gave them just and righteous rules to live by that would bless them and help them if only they would obey.
But they could not obey.
They took those rules and warped them and twisted them until the intent and the love and the care in those rules was wrung out of them and, instead of obeying because the rules were good, they made the rules king and glorified and worshiped the rules instead of the real King.
And, even though they thought they were honoring the King by keeping the rules, they forgot what the heart of the King was like. So they used the rules to elevate those in charge of the rules and to beat down everyone else.
But when enough time had passed and it was obvious that they had failed to be anywhere near as just and righteous and loving and glorious as their Father the King, He sent His only Son into His Kingdom to become King of the people He loved.
And the glory of that King was not that He would enforce the rules and make everyone obey not just in action, but out of hearts of gratitude and praise. No, the glory of the King who came was that He would keep all the rules Himself when thousands of years of history had shown they could not. He would live among us not as a tyrant or a dictator, but as a humble servant born in a manger. He would come not as a King who gathered subjects unto Himself by might or force, but as a lowly man who would wash the feet of those under Him.
He would come as One who ruled in righteousness and peace and love. He would tell the people He loved that the Kingdom they were made for was not one of silver or gold or power or might, but one where loved ruled out of humility and joy. He would show these people whom He loved that this Kingdom was worth dying for, even if it meant that He would humble Himself and willingly allow the children He created to cruelly and unjustly murder Him because He was who He said He was.
But the death His children had brought into His world by their treason would not triumph over Him. The darkness of evil and sin and death His own children had brought into the world would be cast out and cast down when He stepped out of the grave alive –just as He said He would.
And in doing so, He would open the door back into the paradise He intended from the beginning for all who would believe and confess the name of the rightful King of kings and Lord of lords.
King Jesus!
Today’s Praise
Christ, by highest heaven adored
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
- Hark! The herald-angels sing
- “Glory to the newborn King”