kingly protocol

U.S. citizens can’t imagine having a king. He’s not elected or chosen; he just is. He is the symbol and center of the unity and pride of his realm. People are born as his subjects, and he rules over them. What’s it like to bow or curtsy in his presence? To stand when he stands, or sit when he sits? To call him “your majesty”? To pray that God would save Him, in the sense of being preserved for a long life and reign? It’s so strange to us, essentially “un-American”. We threw him off his throne 250 years ago.

God is our rightful King. Scripture is replete with references to His Reign over all, from the Psalmist calling Him The King of Glory, The Lord Almighty (Psalm 24:10) to Paul describing Christ Jesus as the Blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 615). Though we may have chosen to follow Him, He chose us first (John 15:16). He is the Symbol and Center of the Unity of the Church, His own Body. We are re-born as His Subjects, and He rules over us and everything for us (Ephesians 1:22).

Though we know by faith that this is true, I wonder if our anti-royal sentiments also apply to our divine King? What’s it like for us to bow in His Presence, to adopt His Posture and Perspective in all things, to approach Him in all His Majesty? I remember a believing friend commenting on kneelers in a church with “I don’t kneel for anybody.” When I first came to Jesus, I was happy to embrace Him as my Savior, but it was almost a year before I submitted to Him as Lord. And I still notice in myself that when God commands, I’m often slow to respond, less like those servants who look for and respond to the Hand of their Master (Psalm 123:2) and more like that Son who replies “I will not” to His Father’s Command, but later obeys.

To counteract this, I’ve adopted a few practices to remind me that I’m in the constant Presence of My Lord and King. We’re told that every knee will bow before The Lord (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11), and specifically that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow (Philippians 2:10). So when I hear Jesus’ Name mentioned, or when I utter it myself, I bow my head to remember Who He is as the only Sovereign Lord of my life. When I type or write anything about Him, such as His Hand, His Will, or His Plan, I capitalize the reference, reminding myself that His Hand doesn’t have five fingers, and that His Plans are not like my plans (Isaiah 58:8). Though we are made in His Image, He is not made in ours.

So what’s your attitude towards your King, and in what ways might you draw nearer to Him as such?