“There go our freedoms.” The elections this year proved to be deeply concerning to me. Not the outcome, but the reaction to the outcome by professed Christians talking as if all our hope is either found or lost in our earthly leaders. Do we not have another King? Are we not citizens in another Kingdom? Did God not come down to earth as a baby, humbly die on a cross, and rise from the dead in order to break us free from our chains so that we may live in freedom forever?
It all started one night when Mary gave birth to Jesus. That was the night the King left his throne in heaven, gave up his right to be in charge, and became a helpless baby. He gave up the comfortable for the uncomfortable, the joyful for the painful, himself for you. His purpose: to take back his kingdom, his people. Not by force, but by love.
Back in the beginning, his people rejected their King. They chose their own way, their own knowledge of right and wrong over being with him and letting him rule. They built their own kingdom instead. Ruling themselves, they placed their hope in human wisdom. Wars and death have been a proven result.
However, the King could not let his people suffer under their own rule. So he came back, despite being rejected, to save them. He gave his life for theirs, taking their unbearable punishment on himself in order to offer them back the choice: his rule, or theirs.
We are not alone and we do not have to be afraid. The King has already come.
Because of this love, we have the choice to live in another kingdom every day, or to stay with ours. “Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth” and so it is with rulers. Faith in God comes at a price. Give up what you know and what you don’t know and invite God to rule. Period. In order to live in God’s kingdom, we have to renounce our claim on our kingdom.
True freedom is found when all is given. Dying to live, living to die. We often live with an illusion of safety from death. Living is comfortable in a country where basic necessities are easy to come by and the threat of dying is not imminent. But love, by its very nature, is not comfortable or safe. Love looks outward, is relational, gets rejected. Love propels forward into unknown territory; love casts out fear. As subjects of the King, we are called to love. But we do not have to come up with love on our own. Love came down to us. The story is not about us, or our flaws. The story is about him—about the King who left his throne to sacrifice himself for us, who lives inside of us, who fills us with his love. We are not alone and we do not have to be afraid. The King has already come.
I don’t know the future, but I know we can look forward with the promised hope of the King coming back to make all things right. In fact, he has already started to make things right in each one of us that allows him to work in us. All of creation suffers with us and the more we suffer in this life the more we look forward to the coming of redemption. Jesus the King is coming back someday to finish setting up his kingdom on earth. “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now with his people! He will live with them and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever’ ” (Rev. 21:3-4 NLT).
If we look to the future, we find the present: Immanuel. God with us.
13 Responses
Thanks for this article. Yes, we need to do what God’s calls us to do in our communities etc. But our kingdom is not of this world.
Excellent! Divine message. Thanks for being the vessel, Tonya!
Agreed, we have a King in our Lord Jesus that is altogether righteous, and He must be our first resort not the last.
He has instructed us to be salt and light in the world, as well as his hands and feet. ( we are his body)
We live in a country that is governed for the people, of the people, by the people.
God created three institutions, the family, the government, and the church. All of these are important to the wellbeing of society. While we cannot rely on government alone to bring order to our world, we can with the help of God live in an orderly society. We cannot in good conscience look the other way when we have political candidates openly and unabashedly supporting abortion, ( even to the extent that they will dissect a child alive to harvest the organs) and the anti-family policies of the homosexual community. We must as a church learn to support the statesmen that are attempting to govern as our founding fathers had envisioned by praying for them but also voting for them. Politicians are not the answer, true Christian statesmen are. I’ve known a few in my time.
While I’m looking forward to eternity in a perfect world, I don’t want to leave behind a world for my children and grandchildren that has lost all semblance of propriety, so in the meantime I’ll continue to pray daily, vote when necessary, and speak up when the need arises.
Tonya, this is beautifully written and a great reminder of the truth of our King!
Thank you a reminder of our hope and future
Thank you Tonya for these timeless words but much needed reminder for our time.
Thank you for your biblically grounded reminder! Since we are citizens of God’s kingdom first, my prayer is that we will allow the Good News to drown out the clamor of competing political voices so that we, the church, give a clear and compelling witness to the Gospel’s power!
Beautifully written, Tonya. This article is filled with hope, and it lifts our eyes from the seen to the unseen, from the temporal to the eternal.
Thank you, Tonya.
Well said, Tonya. My generation has lived in relative prosperity, which may have dulled our spiritual senses. Your generation may be facing another reality. May you, and others like you, have the vision, courage and boldness to forge ahead – and continue to show us the way.
Exactly, Tonya! Thank you! I love the line: But love, by its very nature, is not comfortable or safe. Love looks outward, is relational, gets rejected. So true in everything from refugee support work to marriage and loving unbelieving friends. It’s hard and it’s full of sacrifice but it starts with Jesus so it’s also easy and beautiful. I’m hanging on hard to my kingdom citizenship right now!
This is excellent, Tonya! Thank you for the reminder that our hope and freedom is not dependent on the rise and fall of politicians and rulers.
Yep. We have looked to Babylon – politics – for our peace and safety, and thereby saying ‘God is not enough.’ But God says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.”