Who is King?

Holy Week has begun and we eagerly anticipate celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus this coming weekend. The more I grow in my walk with Jesus, the more paramount this holiday becomes. Everything in my life, absolutely everything, rides on the scandalous truth about this extraordinary love that brought salvation to mankind...that Jesus came to save sinners and make them right with God. That through Jesus we are saints, heirs of His kingdom, and blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

We are very aware of the fact that our children (4 years, and just about 2 years) are not Christians yet. We diligently pray that Jesus draws them to Himself and that they become Christians at a young age.
Things like the Easter holiday are paramount to our faith and we so desperately want our children to see how great Jesus is and taste the goodness of the Gospel.

We've been talking a lot with Mekonen about who his king is. Will he try to be his own king, by doing what he wants to do, and by serving himself, or will Jesus be his King? They are two very different ways to live and we are trying to teach him that he cannot live both ways. Either Jesus is your king, or you think you are your own king.

We are trying to help him to understand that being a Christian is not just about a Savior it's also about a King. In our attempts to explain salvation and Christianity to our children, we often only present them with half of the Gospel... that Jesus is our Savior- he saves us from sin, death, and an eternity in hell without Him. But we so often forgot the other half of the Gospel... that Jesus is our King too. And what does a King do? He rules, he reigns, he is worshipped, he is to be followed and served. And this dear friends, is how it is with Jesus! We must constantly put the entire Gospel in front of our kids....that being a Christian is about a Savior AND a King. That you aren't just saved FROM something- from sin- You are saved TO something- to a life of worship and service to the King of our hearts.

The kids painting the cross decorations for our Easter tree table.

Their finished products!

And this is Easter...

Jesus as Savior and Jesus as King! He died to save us. He was raised to be our King.

So who is your King?

• Are you your own king? Do you see Jesus as a mere celebrity, an important historical figure, another "event" to be enjoyed, or something to take part in when it's convenient? Is Jesus only part of your story when he best suits your needs and when he best fits in with the plan you have for your life? 
• Is Jesus your King? This King is the only thing that will never fade. He will stand for all eternity as the center point of all who have ever lived. It has nothing to do with Jesus being King so we can treat him like a lucky rabbit's foot, thinking we will somehow have an easier life. Instead, we surrender to Jesus, knowing it makes life more difficult, but we surrender because He's the only hope. He's the only thing that will stand through eternity, the only hope for sin and death, and being made right with God. 

It's worth losing our fame as our own king, to get Jesus' fame by making Him King.