"Jesus lived the days of his youth as the Beloved Son, secure in his father's love. He matured as a young man working in the carpenter's shop, and through his time in the wilderness. And then he went to war, and as the great Warrior he rescued his people from the kingdom of darkness, threw down the dark prince, set the captives free. As Lover, he wooed and won the hearts of his bride. And now, he reigns as King. Thus the progression of his life as a man, and thus ours."
There is more to life that work and adventure. There is more to life than battle and love. A man must experience each of these things, he must progress through the stages, but it is crucial to remember that they are all preparation for his time to rule. Everything in life is leading us and readying us for leadership and influence, and it is crucial that we embrace the journey with its joys and struggles so that we are able to rule well.
"We come now to the goal, in some sense, of the masculine journey, the maturity for which God has been fathering the man since his first breath - to be a King. To wield power, influence, and property in his name. It is as great and noble an undertaking as it is difficult; history makes that very clear. The reason for many of our miseries upon the earth in these days is that we have lost our Kings. Yes, we find men in power, but they are not true Kings. It is not through initiation that they have come to the throne, nor do they have the heart of a King. And that is a dangerous situation indeed, when a man is made King who is unfit to be one, and it has brought the ruin of many kingdoms - homes, families, churches, ministries, businesses, nations."
Part of the trouble in America today is that we have men leading who aren't Kings. A big reason for the trouble in the Church is there aren't Kings leading it. We've lost so much initiation over the past decades, and maybe even centuries, that we have so many leaders unfit to lead. And until this is reversed, things will continue to get worse. We need Kings, not uninitiated men trying to play the part.
"We must recover the King in a man. This is the role for which man was created. The first man, Adam, was given the earth to rule (see Gen. 1:28), and he was intended to be the beginning of a race of kings. "The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man" (Ps. 115:16 NIV). But Adam failed, abdicated the throne through his sin, so another Man was sent to restore the line. Jesus was also born a King, and destined to rule, as the angel said to Mary, "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 1:32-33 NIV). And where Adam failed, Jesus triumphed... You, my brother, are from that noble line. You are a redeemed son of Adam, now the son of God (1 John 3:1-2). You were born to rule, and you were redeemed to rule. Destined to become a King."
In The Return of the King Elrond presents Aragorn with Anduril, the sword of the King and tells him, "Put aside the Ranger. Become who you are born to be." He has been running from the throne because he fears failing like his ancestors did. But peace can only come when Aragorn sits on the throne as King. We have been born to be Kings, and the longer we fail the stronger evil gets. Our ancestors have failed, but we have been redeemed, this journey of initiation is also a journey of redemption. We are from a noble line, redeemed and called to rule. We are destined to be Kings. May we not run from it, but humbly embrace the role.
"A day is coming when the kingdom of God will appear in its fullness, when we will be given kingdoms of our own. We will rule, just as we were always meant to. Meanwhile, God is training us to do what we're made to do. Every man is a King, for every man even now has a kingdom of sorts. There is some aspect of this world, however small, over which he has say. And as we grow in character and strength, in wisdom and humility, God tends to increase our kingdoms. He wants to entrust us with his kingdom."
We are part of a royal line, born to a destiny to rule. God created us for this noble task, let us take it up.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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