Walter Albritton August 16, 2015 I love the gospel story about Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a poor donkey. He chose a donkey instead of a proud stallion. And if he could use a donkey he can use me too. Like the humble donkey I may not have a big role to play in the Lord’s plan. But I can rejoice in whatever role he gives me. I don’t have to be the quarterback. What matters is being in the game. Actually I am not in the game until I figure out who Jesus is. I have to decide who he was and who he is. I can think of Jesus as a great historical figure or as the King, the risen Savior of the world. Jesus spoke a lot about the Kingdom of God. A kingdom has a king. The Bible says Jesus is that king – the king of glory, the everlasting God, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. When I choose to worship Jesus as my King, I am in the game. And in the King’s business there are no insignificant places of service. Some things are optional. We can study the lives of great men and women and learn from them. But we need not worship them. If, however, we study the life of Jesus we feel drawn to worship him. The more we worship him, the more we begin to understand the reason for our own existence. When I worship Jesus things change. Life has a new glow about it. Light and joy displace the darkness and sadness of life. As I worship Jesus my heart finds release from guilt and the burden of my sins. I feel more like singing than complaining. The worship of Jesus makes me realize that he needs me, even me. He wants me on his team. He has a place for me. And this awareness brings dignity to my little life. This is a truly remarkable idea – that the God who created the heavens and the earth needs ordinary people like me. He has the power to do all things by himself but that is not his plan. He invites anyone who will to partner with him. Imagine – you and I by worshiping Jesus can become partners with Jesus in his mission to redeem the world! Modern culture insists that Christians keep quiet about their king. Political correctness demands that we soft-pedal talk of Jesus. Yet that is exactly what all people need to hear – the good news that life is changed when Jesus is worshiped as the King. Some Christians are tongue-tied in public because they have not yet owned Jesus as King of their lives. Many believers leave it up to the preachers to speak of Jesus. But surely God wants all his partners – engineers, architects, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, welders and carpenters – to make known their allegiance to Jesus as King of their lives. God is not honored of course by witnessing that is obnoxious or absurd. We honor him best when both our lives and our lips make others aware that Christ is our King. On an ugly hill called Calvary Jesus earned the right to be the King of our lives. There as he shed his blood the Great Deed of God was done. When I reflect on what he did for me there, I feel like falling on my knees and praying, O Lord my King, thank you for the honor of serving wherever you need me. + + +