And He Will Reign Forever

Isn’t that how it is in our lives? Peace never lasts there either. For awhile, everything is peaceful with your health, but then suddenly, that’s not the case. Everything is peaceful financially, but then suddenly, you’re struggling to make ends meet. Personal peace, national peace – all of it is temporary. All of it is fleeting.

That’s what makes Christ such an unusual king. He sets up a kind of peace that never ends, a kind of peace that goes on and on forever. It’s not a political type of peace, or a financial type of peace, or an emotional type of peace. The peace that Jesus sets up is peace between you and God. God is no longer angry with you because of your sin. And you no longer have to be afraid of God because of your sin. Jesus takes your sin away, and sets up peace between you and your Heavenly Father. That is the kingdom that Jesus sets up, the kingdom that the angel spoke about to Mary – a kingdom of eternal peace between you and God.

But how do you become a part of this kingdom? That’s what makes this kingdom very strange. You’re not born into it, as people are normally born into the kingdoms of this earth. Ever since Adam and Eve, no one has ever been born into the Kingdom of God. And you can’t earn your way into Christ’s kingdom by being a good person. You can’t buy your way into it either.

A person becomes a member of Christ’s kingdom of peace by believing something that sounds incredibly ridiculous. I must believe that although I think I’m a pretty good person, I’m actually terribly sinful. I must believe that this child born in a stable, lying in a manger, is God. I must believe that Christ, although he seems so humble, Christ gives me his righteousness and that takes away my sin. Even though I can’t see the glory of God, I must believe that it is here, in the stable, and that it is here, on the cross. When the Holy Spirit works on my heart, and causes me to believe these things, that is how I become a member of Christ’s eternal Kingdom. There are no exams, no tests. God simply asks me to believe that he did all this for me.

Do you realize that if you had been the only sinner in all the world, God still would have done all this for you. He still would have been born on Christmas. He still would have died on Good Friday. He still would have risen from the dead on Easter Sunday. If you had been the only sinner in all the world, Jesus would still have done all this for you. Believe it, and become a member of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

This is something you have, that will never grow old, that will never fade away. The Devil will try to take it away from you, but remember, the Devil is powerless against those who are in the Word. Christ’s kingdom is God’s eternal gift to you, a gift that will never fall apart. There is eternal peace between you and God, and Jesus, your king, will someday take you home, and there you will reign with him forever.

It is true that life is getting scarier. Morality continues to decay. The body continues to get older. World peace, personal peace – it comes and goes. Nothing lasts forever. Except what you have hidden here, in the Word. Your sins are forgiven, forever. You are a child of God, forever. Jesus has been given the throne of David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end. Because of Christ, you do have a reason to be excited, a reason to be a person full of joy and hope. Amen.