Christ the King

A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, “darkness.”[1]

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV)

I have heard people say, “I don’t believe God is like that,” in response to particularly difficult portions of our faith. It doesn’t matter the issue at hand. Many of us have a way we want God to be, a set of behaviors we consider to be God-like, and when we come up against an event or a set of behaviors that seem to go against our preconceived notions about God, we struggle.

Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is that day in the Church liturgical year when we celebrate the rule and reign of our Creator over His creation. God has claimed that title of King for Himself. There is no other.

In other words, we will not always understand God or His actions. Yet, He will always continue to be God. The creation that surrounds us calls forth his greatness and glory. We cannot change one portion of that simply by saying, “I don’t think that’s the way God is.”

Our Christian life is not about matching the God that is to the God we want to have. No, it is about matching the God in our head to the God that exists and created our mind, heart, and soul. It is about us coming to Christ on Christ’s terms. It is not about us setting guidelines to negotiate a new contract.

God is gracious and good, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. God is just and righteous, holy, above all others. There is no sin to be found in Him. There is no contradiction anywhere in his character or being. So, when we run headlong into one of those things that challenge the God we think we want, it is best to recognize that it is the God who truly is that died for us, loves us and calls us to learn of Him and about Him that He might receive the full measure of His glory.

Pastor Craig

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[1] Tweeted by @LoveLikeJesus