Month: February 2019

A righteous Savior is worth serving as a Sovereign.

Whom do you swear your allegiance to?

In the Middle Ages, knights of European kingdoms had a noble duty to uphold the laws and wishes of the kings or queens they served. After completing years of hard training as a young squire, they would eventually be pronounced an official Knight by the monarch of their royal court.

From the point of their knighthood, they were charged with all the responsibilities and rules that their king or queen gave them. This sometimes included a code of honor, such as chivalry, which concerned the knight’s personal conduct in specific situations. Failure to follow the king or queen’s expectations would most likely lead to imprisonment, if not immediate execution.

Thankfully, we do not live in the “Dark Ages” anymore.

In terms of history, we are free (for the most part) from the iron fist of absolute monarchy. However, we do live in an increasingly dark world that is groaning for the return of the Lord of Light. All of Creation cannot be freed from the curse of mankind’s sin until the Savior comes back to restore it. If you have accepted Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior, your individual restoration process, or inner transformation, has already begun.

Hopefully you have experienced his goodness for yourself in your everyday life. If your heart is truly in the right place, you have sworn allegiance to God as the King of your life. Surely the Creator of the entire universe is worthy of being in control of your daily destiny, if one of His royal titles is “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Here are three reasons why we serve a divine King Who is WORTH loving:

1. He saved your soul from Hell.

As a true Christian, the very reason you should want to serve God is because of all He did for you on the cross. He sent His only, holy Son to die for you and became sin Himself for the sake of your eternal life. God has never wanted anyone to go to Hell when they die; He sincerely desires that all come to repentance from their sins. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ~ “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“)

(2 Peter 3:9 ~ “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.“) Hell was created as a place of divine punishment for the eternally wicked Satan and his loyal following of rebellious fallen angels; it was never meant to be the destination of mankind’s souls.

Sadly, the moment man chose to listen to the voice of Satan, he became just like him, choosing a lifestyle of sin over God’s righteousness. That is why Hell exists for human punishment as well as demons – because they chose to follow Satan’s ways of wickedness over God’s holiness.

But thanks and praise be to God, Who saw fit to SAVE us from a fate of eternal darkness, despair, and pain, completely separated from His goodness and light forever. We did nothing to deserve it, no, but He extended His grace and mercy toward us so we wouldn’t have to know that terrible fate. (Romans 5:8 ~ “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.“) Instead, we gained the privilege of knowing Him, which leads to the second reason He is a King worth loving…

2. He is kind and merciful.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is overflowing with benevolence towards our souls. He not only forgives us for all our sins (which we should ask for daily), but also makes intercession for us on our behalf to God the Father Himself. (Romans 8:27 ~ “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”)

When Satan accuses us of our sins daily, Jesus Himself stands before His Father in Heaven and says “Wait a minute – I know exactly what *insert your name* is going through right now, and it isn’t easy. Since I know everything about *insert your name in the possessive case* life, I understand why they did what they did. It doesn’t make it right, but I already paid the price for their sin. So please Dear Father, forgive their sin on My behalf.”

As you can see, Jesus is the lover of our souls – that’s the whole reason why He did what He did for us on the cross. He gave us the chance to have eternal life when we didn’t deserve it whatsoever. He loved us, even when He knew it was likely we might never love Him in return. That is unconditional love, and we can never repay Him for it in full. However, He is satisfied with us giving our best to Him, which leads to the third reason why He is worth loving…

3. He is understanding.

The Lord knows our weaknesses, and rather than showing us cruelty for them, He offers His compassion instead. He knows that we are but made of dust, and remembers that every time we fail Him, which is often, if not daily. (Psalm 103:14 ~ “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.“) Because we are saved from the pit of Hell by His grace, He shows us refuge instead of condemnation. (Romans 8:1-2 ~ “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.“)

Therefore, we have a much better life of service than the European knights of the Middle Ages. Rather than being thrown into the dungeon or executed, we are spared from our punishment by the loving kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is well within His right to judge and condemn us if He chose to, but since we have chosen to place our faith and trust in Him, He acknowledges our loyalty to Him and gives us more grace.

As the Good Shepherd, He knows us by name and calls us unto Him every day. He protects us from physical danger on Earth, as well as supernatural attacks from Satan himself and his demonic minions. Jesus is truly a warrior king, and stands apart from all other human warrior kings, because he has already won the victory, which lasts forever. We can choose to ride with Him in safety into spiritual battle every day, or we can choose to stumble along the sidelines where are vulnerable to satanic attacks. Hopefully you choose to ride with Him, charging against the hordes of spiritual darkness.

For an infinite Creator and King, we have infinite reasons to love Him.

The number of reasons we owe our love to God doesn’t stop at three – on the contrary, the list is endless. Each person is free to fill the list with his or her own reasons, based on the marvelous works He has done in their lives. The three reasons I’ve listed here are simply basic, fundamental reasons for loving God that are derived from biblical truth. I hope that this month and every month, no matter what the holiday, you will remember to love the One Who loves you the most. Jesus IS WORTHY of our love, our life of service and sacrifice, and our loyalty. Let Him be your Valentine daily, and you will see for yourself just how much He can fill your heart with His unconditional love.

– Gloria D. Hopkins