New Morning Mercies #311

God loves too much to be willing to forsake his glorious kingdom of grace for your self-absorbed little kingdom of one.

On this side of our final destination, the great spiritual battle is all about kingdoms in conflict. Sin causes us all to anoint ourselves as kings and to live our lives with kingdom purposes. We all set ourselves up as sovereigns over our kingdoms of one. We all want our will to be done. We all know what we want, when we want it, how we want it, where we want it, and who we want to deliver it. So God gives us his grace. Is his grace given to give you what you need to be your own king? Is his grace bestowed on you so your little kingdom purposes will happen? No, God’s grace dethrones you from your little kingdom and welcomes you to a much better kingdom than you could ever want for yourself. But in this kingdom, you will never be at the center, it will never be all about you, and you will never rule, because in this kingdom, all things are for God and God alone.

The dynamic of kingdoms in conflict is powerfully demonstrated in one poignant moment in Jesus’s interactions with his disciples:

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” (Mark 9:30–37)

The juxtaposition of the two parts of this vignette is really quite stunning. In the most pointed and poignant way yet, Jesus talks to the disciples about his coming death. Clearly the disciples do not fully grasp what he is saying, but they ask no questions. There is no display of grief or even concern on their part. No, they quickly move on to the topic that is really important to them and which reveals the true desires of their hearts. After Christ’s announcement of the violent death that is to come for him, they immediately begin to argue about who is the greatest. In this moment, their claustrophobic kingdoms of one collide with God’s kingdom of glory and grace. These kingdoms collide today as well. Only grace can make us love God’s kingdom more than our own.

For further study and encouragement: Luke 11:1–13