I Have No Other King

Do we remember that Jesus is a King? Not just any king but the King of kings? Do we remember that the Father has taken everything, in heaven and earth, and put them under the authority of Jesus, his son? In fact, this is what the Father has done for us in relation to this King and kingdom:

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)

We have the privilege of being citizens of this Kingdom by the will of the Father and are under the authority of the King. Understand this: the authority of the King. This is important for us to grasp because we act as if the commandments of the King are mere suggestions that we have options in. We act as if he is a distant King and we can decide what we want and act like we want. It is as if this King has never done anything for us and we have no love for him. Yet, it is by our King that we "have redemption, the forgiveness of sins".

I think the problem is that we still worship Jesus of Nazareth. We worship a little baby in a manger. We worship the son of Mary instead of the Son of God. We worship the miracle worker, the teacher, the humble servant. We fail to understand that there was a transformation with Jesus after the cross. He moved from the suffering servant to the King of kings:

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humble himself and became obedient to death -
        even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8-11)

This is the King who we are subject to. This is the King who we have pledged our allegiance to because we owe him so much. He is our sovereign, the one we have pledged to serve and to obey. He is the King who has promised never to leave us, to be with us to the very end of the age. He is the King who promised that we would be supplied to complete the mission he has given us. This is the King who has given us purpose in his service, who has given us tasks to complete, who sent us out represent him in the darkness we have been rescued from. This is the King who said to us that if we love him we will do what he has commanded. This is the King who told us that we can only serve one king.

I think we forget sometimes who it is we serve. We forget that we are not defined by where we live, our clothes, job, bank account and investments, by our homes and cars, or even by the family we are part of. We are defined as citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ; we are defined by the character of our King. Do you see yourself as a citizen of this world or of the Kingdom of Jesus? Do you live to please yourself or man or the King? When you go to take action on the matter, do you consider what would please our King, what would bring him honour and glory, what would be the right thing to do? Do we do what is right or what is easy?

There is no doubt that Jesus is King and that his sovereignty is over all things. The question is, is he our King? If he is our King then our desire would be to obey him and to complete the task that he has given us. Our purpose in life should be nothing more than to please and honour our King. Our great desire should be to carry out every one of our King's commandments. Every day we should be pledging our lives to this King and using all of our resources to do what he has commanded. Our every thought should be about the King and the Kingdom to which we are citizens.

I will not be defined by this world but by the King who I love with all my heart and who I long to please with my dedicated service in every task I have been given. In my life Jesus Christ, my King, must and will be supreme. And I bow my knee to him every moment of my day, refusing to forget, refusing to let it fade, refusing to let anything cut me off from my Lord. I am in service to King Jesus, who I love, who I have pledged myself to, who I will live and die for. I have no other King!