Do you call Him King?

Isaiah 9:6-7 says, 

For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders. 

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the greatness of his government 

and peace there will be no end. 

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness 

from that time on and forever. 

The zeal of the LORD Almighty

will accomplish this.

In the Christmas story recounted in Matthew 1 & 2 and Luke 1 & 2 Jesus is called a son who is both Messiah and King in the line of David, who fulfills this promise. At the time, Joseph, Mary, the wise men and the shepherds, believed this because they had gotten special messages from God, but the baby Jesus was a regular human baby. He didn't yet fulfill these promises with any of his own actions yet. They worshiped the baby because they believed What God had said about Him.

We, on the other hand, have the advantage of reading the whole story of Jesus's perfect life, death, and resurrection. We also have 2,000 years of history showing his impact on billions of people and the whole history of the world. In his first coming and its after effects, he's already fulfilled many of the prophecies in Isaiah 9 and in other places, and they'll be completely fulfilled when it comes again.

So, around the Christmas season, as we think about these things, and we see various Christmas plays, it's easy in our mostly Christian context to mouth the words that Jesus is King and Messiah. So the real question for those of us who say that Jesus is our King at this time of the year is whether or not our words and actions show that He is our King, not just in December or on Sundays, but at other times. Is he your prince of peace on Monday morning when it is really hard to get up to go to school or work? 

Is He your wonderful counselor when you have to face that boss who is often unjust and selfish? Do you really believe He is mighty God when you're facing that cancer diagnosis? Do you still believe He is righteous and just when you see Christians being persecuted and killed around the world for their belief in Him?

It is good and right for us at this time of the year to remind ourselves who Jesus is and to sing Christmas carols declaring Him to be our King and Savior. But during the beautiful times of the season, let's commit ourselves to calling Him King and obeying Him as our master, even during the hard times.