King Jesus

Several weeks ago it was reported that lawmakers in Poland had drafted a resolution that named Jesus Christ as the honorary king of Poland. Leaders of both the ruling Law and Justice party and the opposition Peasants Party back the resolution. But the resolution has no chance to be passed into law-- it has the support of only 46 members in Parliament, well short of the 231 votes needed to become law. The main reason for that is the by the Catholic Church in Poland. One bishop said, “This kind of action, although it may stem from good will, sounds a bit like propaganda.” Another added, “Let parliament deal with passing better laws that we need.” So in Poland, it is the church that fights to maintain the separation of church and state.

Can you imagine our Congress drafting a resolution making Jesus the honorary “King of America?” Me either. (Of course, it would be nice if enough lawmakers-- and citizens for that matter-- felt that strongly about Jesus). Jesus is King, but He is King of a kingdom that is not of this world (John 18:36). Jesus wasn’t telling Pilate that He was refusing to be King of Rome; He was saying that His kingdom is of a completely different plane of existence. Jesus is king of a spiritual kingdom that transcends the political boundaries and systems of this world order. His kingdom is opposed to this world and its “craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.” (1 John 2:16). Jesus says that the power exercised by the political entities that control the world are completely opposed to the way things work in the kingdom of God (Matt 20:25-28).

Sometimes we end up wanting the world to behave so that it is easier for us. So Christians exercise political power in an effort to put prayer back in school, return the ten commandments to being displayed in our courts, out law the practice of abortion, ban sex and violence from TV and video games, etc. (I've always wondered why the "family values" politicians haven't called for banning divorce as well). Don’t get me wrong, I usually (though not always) vote for people who stress those issues. I do think Christian people make better lawmakers than non-Christians; one who believes they are accountable to God at judgement makes them more careful than one who is only accountable to the electorate!

But we had better be careful that we don’t expect the world to make our faith easier and more mainstream. Christianity has always been a counter-culture that stands opposed to the world and points to the coming of a whole new world. We live out the values of the kingdom and call people to King Jesus regardless of what the power structure of this world says or does. Christians are not people who live where Jesus has been made King of their country. They are the people who have made Jesus king of their hearts and lives.