"Christ the everlasting Lord"

"of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
he will reign on david's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
the zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this." (isaiah 9.7 tniv)

i just read the headline that our governor has been arrested on federal charges. we have long suspected the corruption people allude to throughout chicago and illinois was more fact than fiction. with one governor in prison already, you'd think this one would have been on his toes a little more. meanwhile, our president's approval rating couldn't get much lower (is there lower than "zero" when it comes to approval ratings?). he seems to avoid directly answering questions regarding his integrity but it certainly makes one start to wonder, is there a trustworthy leader anywhere?

with all the disillusionment surrounding our own political system, it is not hard to imagine what it would be like to find out that after a string a really bad kings, God planned to give the people a forever king who would establish and uphold justice and righteousness. i would love to hear that one person would soon be ruling who would be completely trustworthy, a just judge and wise leader for the land. if he held a press conference, you could believe his words and have total confidence in his decisions. as if that weren't enough, there would be no term limits. finally, the right person would be in office and he would stay there forever.

a forever king. when we think about that in terms of our own sorry situation, we can experience a little more of the thrill of the promise than we might otherwise. no wonder the jews were looking for someone to overthrow the roman government and take his seat on an earthly throne. then their lives would really be grand.

God had a much higher plan in mind. we needed someone not just to rule us physically, but to rule us spiritually as well. the forever king is someone who rules over all aspects of our lives. this is someone who judges justly but who also shows us mercy and grace. this is someone who knows our hearts and minds, who loves us as we are but challenges us to be so much more than we ever thought we could be. this is the forever king to whom i want to submit myself. this is the forever king for whom i'm preparing myself this advent season, the forever king whose forever reign i'm actively anticipating.

"but the angel said to her, 'do not be afraid, mary, you have found favor with God. you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. the Lord God will give him the throne of his father david, and he will reign over the house of jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.'" (luke 1.30-33 tniv)

for the kids: if they know enough about current politics, you can talk about various leaders our country has had, for good or for ill. otherwise, talk about teachers or other leaders they have experienced. ask them to describe a decision with which they may have disagreed. how did that make them feel? talk about the fact that Jesus is a forever king. what does it mean for them to have Jesus as king over their lives, even now before he takes over his earthly throne? for a project, make a crown using lots of glitter and stick on jewels.