How Many Kings

At Christmastime I was introduced to a song that I instantly fell in love with. This song is sung from the perspective of the wise men who sought out the child Savior to worship. I’ve thought about singing it, but yeah… we’ll cross that fear of mine one of these days. Anyway, I’m so thankful that this song didn’t disappear following Christmas as it’s still being played on the radio today. The song is called “How many kings” and is sung by the band Down Here. It is this song that has inspired this lesson.

Before we dive into this, I think it’s important to look at the lyrics:

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe after all we’ve projected
A child in a manger
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in His mother’s shawl
Just a child. Is this who we’ve waited for?

Cuz, how many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have where the costly are meek
Because we believe
Gold for His honor
And Frankensence for His pleasure
And Myrrh for the cross He’ll suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we’ve waited for?

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me
All for me. All for you.

The bible is full of titles of God. I’m sure we’ve all heard Jesus being called King of kings and Lord of lords as in Rev 19:16: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”, but having heard this song, I realized, like many other things concerning God and His Word, these are so much more than just titles. All too often we think so superficially and never really dive into what God really gave up to be the sacrifice that bridged the gap between us and God. Listening to this, I thought it would be cool to break it apart to see the truths in it in relation to God’s Word and work.

“How many kings” is sung from the perspective of the wise men. We don’t know how many wise men there were. Traditionally it’s taught that there were three wise men, but honestly that’s just because they gave three gifts. It’s quite possible there were many more. These were men of wealth and knowledge. They were learned men who investigated the stars and studied scrolls. Somewhere in their research they happened upon a new star and recognized it as the indicator of the new King. Do you think that they expected to be seeking a child? (( PAUSE ))

Ok, this is purely for my benefit as this is a pet peeve of mine, but perhaps you can learn from this too. My pet peeve is this… the wise men were not at the manger scene. Matthew 2:11 says “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Notice that they entered their HOUSE and that Jesus was a YOUNG CHILD. This is also why Herrod had all children under the age of 2 slaughtered in fear of being dethroned. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming. ((UNPAUSE))

These wise men may not have expected a child Savior. But then again, neither did the Jews. They were seeking a triumphant warrior king to save them from their enemies, not a King who came to save them spiritually through servitude and suffering. When you think of a Savior… a Messiah… do you think of a helpless, fully dependent infant child? Most likely not.

But, rather than a continued Christmas lesson I want to look at the Chorus for our song.

Cuz, how many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?

I have to admit I’d never actually thought about what it meant to be a lord or a king prior to hearing this song. Have you? A king has all he wants. He is served and has no need of anything. His every whim is catered to. Yet, the King of the universe (which He created), stepped down from His throne and WILLINGLY gave up being catered to, gave up His comforts and gave up much of His power (if only temporarily) and came to a world that is fallen and riddled with the effects of sin.

What about a lord? What was the life of a lord like? If you were to look up the word “lord” in the dictionary, you’d find several definitions. Wholistically, a lord is a title of honor to someone with great power and authority. Many times they are land owners and often the proprietor of a manor. These men want for little. They own much property. Stuff… They have stuff. What would you do if you were asked to give up your stuff? Would you walk away from it entirely? Who would you give it up for? God gave up everything for you. He stood up and walked out of His home with nothing so that He could enter into this world without a penny, born in the lowliest of conditions and later working with His hands to earn a living with His earthly family. Why? We’ll get to that one later.

Greatest of all. God is most definitely the Greatest. Simply stated, the Greatest in all the universe became the lowliest of all created. No pomp and circumstance. No glory and honor. A human. Able to be wounded and scarred.

“How many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?” That right there says it all. Have you ever been “romanced”? Have you ever felt that gentle tug of emotion and love when the object of your affections does something for you? Why would God want to romance you? What makes us worthy of His love? Are we? Ah, well therein lies the heart of Christianity and also the end of this lesson… why? Because that my friends is the beginning of another lesson all together! But know this, God desires a relationship with you. He loves you more than you could fatham. God loved you so much He stepped down from His throne, left His home, became the least of all creation… just to be with you.

In His Image

I miss teaching. I cannot deny it. God gave me a love of teaching. One morning while praying on my long drive to work, God seemed to give me this lesson, reaffirming it in my mind, and I thought the best way to share it was via Facebook. Why not? I’ll just teach here! Read it or not, I am going to enjoy this! So… here goes.

God has showed me a lot over the years. I love every minute of it. I especially love coming across those “aha” moments in scripture. Quite often they came while studying a lesson to teach. In fact, I am certain that in all the years I’ve taught, I have learned more than any of my students have! I love it. Recently I was reminded of one of my favorite “aha” moments which came to fruition several years ago when God (in the cool way He does) put two different lessons, from two different churches together to reveal one single very important lesson to me about who He was. More and to the point, about the Trinity and how He relates to me.

What is the Trinity? The Trinity is how God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are described as all three being one. There are many Bible references to this relationship, even though the actual word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. For example, 1 John 5:7 says “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word (this is Jesus), and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”

Many times in my life I have heard people talk about the Trinity with such confusion. Let’s face it, the idea of three entities being One God, is hard to grasp. I have to admit, for many many years I struggled with understanding it too. Oh, please don’t assume I’m proclaiming I’ve got this one 100% covered and I know everything about the Trinity. I know that none of us will ever quite “get it”. God is far too complex for that, but there are things that He does enlighten us to. Things He will reveal about Himself when we seek Him. And I want to share one.

Growing up, I had heard the Trinity compared to an egg. An egg has three parts: a shell, a yolk and whites. Together they are one… one egg. That is pretty good I think. Another person once described the Trinity as being like the different facets of each of us. For instance, I am a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend, etc. I am all these distinct things, but I am Ronda. They are all me and I am all of them. Yeah, that was pretty good too. But I think my “aha” moment was where God took me a step back and defined Himself in a way that first put me in awe and secondly made me love my God that much more.

So to start this lesson, let’s go to the very beginning. Genesis 1:26 says “Then God said; “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…” Hmmm. “In Our Image… to Our likeness”, What does that mean? Does that mean that we look like God? Perhaps. But usually there’s much more to His word than just what we see on the surface. God doesn’t waste words… if He’s going to use them, they’re going to be more than just superficial talk. Let’s face it, He was the Word!

So, I ask myself… if I’m made in God’s image, what makes me, me? What are the parts of me that make me who I am and can I see those same parts in God? Well, first off, I’m going to step out on a limb here and state the obvious… here it is. I have a body. BOOM! That’s right! I can see it and I can touch it. Sometimes I’m not happy with it, but yep, there it is! I have a physical form. So, if I’m made in God’s image… does that mean God has a physical form? Let’s look. John 1:14 states “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” By golly God DOES have a body! Who was the Word made flesh? John 1 makes it clear that the Word made flesh was the Son Jesus Christ. So there we have it, My God has a physical form, a body. I am made in the image of God! Yeah!

Ok, what else? What else makes me, me? Well, I would hope that you all would agree that I have a mind. Yes, I know, sometimes you may wonder, but really, I do have one. I have a Psychological part of myself. A part of me that thinks, plans, and makes decisions. No one can discount that our minds are the head of who we are. Besides the fact that it’s quite literally in our heads, it is the part of us that motivates and dictates the rest of who we are.

Interesting note to ponder; my body is equal, yet submissive to my mind. Hmm… So, does God have a mind? Is there a part of God that Jesus (the Body) is equal to but also submissive to? John 5:30 states these words of Jesus “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”. Additionally, John 5:36 states these continued words of Jesus “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” The Father has sent the Son. Matthew 26 speaks the prayer of Jesus on the day he would be taken into custody. There is says “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” and “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."” The will of the Father is done by the Son. The Father has determined the course which was to be set. And make no mistake, this course was determined in the beginning. Titus 1:1 – 3 states “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at His appointed season He brought His Word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,”. Yes, God has a mind. The mind of God is the Father, the head of the Trinity.

Is that is? Is that all of me? Wait, I think there’s something else. Ah yes, I have a spirit. Our spirit is the part of us that grasps and comprehends spiritual things. It is also how we communicate with God’s Spirit. Wait, what was that? God’s Spirit? Does God have a spirit too? Yes! The Holy Spirit is mentioned all throughout Old and New Testament. He is very active in the lives of Christians. I love His Spirit. He is whom we talk through and to. My favorite verse about the Holy Spirit is Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Oh how many times I didn’t know what to pray. But it’s ok, God knew my heart and His Spirit spoke it for me. How precious is His Spirit!

There you have it friends. God is three in one, and guess what, so are we! We are made in the image of the everlasting God. While driving that morning I reflected on these three comparisons. I thought about how my body, mind and spirit interact and reflected on whether the Father, Son and Holy Spirit interact the same way. It’s impossible to be me without all three of them, and they cannot truly exist on their own. They are one single entity that is me. Each has their own purpose and they cannot help but perform them. All equal but separate. My mind commands my body, and my spirit speaks to my mind. I’d even venture to say that there are times my spirit leads my body. None of them try to overtake or become more important than the other… because they are one. Wow, isn’t God amazing?

Well, I hope you enjoyed that. It was fun!