When we know our end we know our calling for today. What is our end? We will, for all eternity, inhabit a redeemed world, the new heavens and the new earth. We will enjoy peace, plenty, a life utterly devoid of sin. And we will serve and sit under the King. Eternity is a monarchy and Jesus is its king.
That can be hard for us who are Americans to swallow. We, if we were poorly educated, rejoice in and give thanks for living in a democracy, a place where the people rule. If we were better educated we rejoice and give thanks for living in a republic, a place where law, rather than people rule. In either case we buck against the notion of monarchy. We came into our own when we threw off the rule of George III, when the colonies declared themselves independent.
Our prejudices are confirmed when we read through the early history of Israel. After struggling through that part of Israel’s history when it was ruled by judges, charismatically gifted and chosen, that time when “Every man did what was right in his own eyes” we come to the account of Samuel, the last judge in Israel. The people, you will remember, came to him demanding that they be given a king like all the other nations to rule over them. That’s where we plant our anti-monarchy flag. “See,” we say, “these foolish people want a king and it’s all going to go wrong for them.” God tells Samuel what the king will be like- he will send your sons off the foreign wars. He will take your daughters to work in his palace. And, as shocking and terrifying as this may be, he will tax you at a rate of 10%.
A more careful reading, however, will show us that the problem was not that Israel wanted a king, but that they wanted a king like all the other nations. God tells Samuel that they had not rejected him as their judge, but had rejected God as their king. They didn’t move from judges to monarchs, but moved from having God as their king to having a king like all the other nations. God gave them over to their desires, and we know how that went. His promise, however, His solution to the problem of Saul, was not democracy or a republic. His solution was a king, His king, David.
David, along with his son Solomon reigned in a golden age for Israel. Neither, of course, were in the least sinless. Both had much to repent for. But the nation reached its geographic, economic and militaristic pinnacle. Even the nation’s worship hit a high point with the building of the temple. From this point forward in their history the question no longer was monarchy or not, but became instead good monarchy or bad. And so it is in our own day.
Which is why the great Hebrew prophet reminds us, “It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Kingship is unavoidable, woven into the warp and woof of reality. Because Jesus is Lord. This was, of course, the very first creed of the first century church, that affirmation in turn that lead so many to die the martyr’s death. “Jesus is Lord” is not a mere wish. That is, saying “Jesus is Lord” is not on par with saying, “We’re number one” about our favorite team. Neither are we merely affirming that He is our Lord. When we come to embrace Him it is not strictly accurate to say that we make Jesus the Lord of our lives. What we do instead is recognize that Jesus is Lord of our lives. We do not rise up to heaven to put a crown on His head, to seat Him on our throne. Instead we fall on our faces, and grasp that He always been our Lord; we had just been in rebellion.
Where we are going then is not to a future inauguration. “Jesus is Lord” is not affirming “Jesus will be Lord.” It is not just a future hope, but a present reality. What we yet await is the increasing recognition of His reign. First, as we grow in grace, as we become increasingly obedient we bring our own hearts, minds and hands into submission. His reign, however, is not simply over the church. The idea that “The kingdom of God is in our hearts” is true, not because it is not outside of our hearts, but because it is everywhere. That is, it is not only in our hearts. Wherever there is a there, there Jesus reigns. Wherever there is a that, Jesus reigns over that. There is, as Abraham Kuyper wisely said, not one square inch of the entire universe over which Jesus does not declare, “MINE.”
Like our fathers in the faith, however, we don’t want the King, but a king, like all the other nations. We want to be ruled by our desires, by our emotions. We want a king like all the other nations- a state that watches over us from cradle to grave. We want a king like all the other nations, that will send our sons off to die in adventurous wars, and now, our daughters as well. We want a king like all the other nations, whose tax burden suggests that they own it all. We don’t want Jesus to rule over us, fearing that He is too cruel and exacting. Instead we want a king like all the other nations, whose tender mercies are most cruel.
The good news, however, is that our king is at work overcoming not just our enemies, but all within us that is displeasing to Him. When we cry out for a king like all the other nations we do so as subjects of the one King, who happily does not run a democracy. He is about the business of bringing subjects into His kingdom, and in the business of making His subjects more subject.
Jesus is Lord. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto Him. His kingdom is forever, for He shall reign forever and ever. He is bringing all things under subjection, to the glory of the Father. We live in the midst of the greatest fairy tale every told. We are the evil hag that the Prince has married. And He has ascended to His throne. Which means, of course, that our story ends just as it ought- and we’ll all live happily ever after.