Game of Thrones
Keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:14-16
Fourth of July is a time for picnics, parades and fireworks. It is also a time for gratitude for what we have as a nation. The first settlers came here for freedom from an oppressive king, as did many who came here later. Even with the challenges we have in our country right now, from violence to an uncertain election outcome, we have so much to be grateful for. Today we have very little knowledge about the reality of monarchy. Our information comes from watching the lavish British royal weddings and the birth of royal cuties. It is supplemented by movies such as Princess Diaries, leaving us with a somewhat off kilter view. The reality is that in a monarchy which does not have the balancing effects of democracy, the king's power is absolute. He has control of religion, politics and money. A king rules for life and the rule is passed down to his heir, which gives birth to the saying, "The king is dead. Long live the king."a king can be deposed and overthrown, but it usually involves bloodshed.
The same is true in our spiritual life. In a perfect world, God is on the throne of our hearts, but it is not a perfect world. It is a world polluted and corrupted by sin and dark forces. The throne of our heart is often occupied by self, by money , by power, by intelligence or by pleasure. These are not benevolent dictators and will wreak havoc in our lives. The only way to depose these tyrants is to accept the rule of God in our lives. He has earned the right because of Jesus blood that was shed. Unlike these false gods, He is a loving and compassionate king.
God deserves our loyalty because of who he is. Paul tells Timothy to "keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen" 1 timothy 6:14-16.
God himself describes it this way.
“This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell what will come. Isaiah 44:5-7
Just as the king's authority is passed down to his heir. Revelation 1:5 says
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[a] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Even though we have limited understanding of kingship, God does not. He is not a tyrant, but a merciful master who in exchange for our loyalty gives us his unlimited protection and provision.
