Christ the King

Revelation 1.6 says that the loving washing in Christ “the faithful witness and firstborn from the dead who is ruler over the kings of the earth has made us kings and priests to his God and Father. “  When faced with terrorism, even those with secret intelligence and advanced weaponry do not feel like they are in-charge kings.  When faced with cancer, few feel like they are kings much less healthy priests.  They feel trampled and trodden down, inescapably cornered by danger, disease and death.  But the promise is strong and true, the reality is that the Lord Jesus is Rex of all realms.   If the blood has covered, we are priests.  If the washing of his death has passed over us we are kings before Christ’s Father and our God.  Of course that first of all means that we also are under his rule since he is ruler of all the kings of the earth whether monarchs presumed by their own wealth and armies or whether potentates through the power of Christ’s cross-bound weakness.  The truth is, as Jesus told Pilate, “the kingdom of God is not from here,” but here it comes in the birth, life and death of the witness to the Father, Jesus, King of the Jews and and of all beyond— in belief.  (John 18. 33-37)