King of All the Nation: A 3-Day Devotional From TEMITOPENäide

King of All the Nations

There are many kings and many nations, but only one King of all the nations. These days, the closest thing we have to a “king” in the United States is a “president” — some of us verbalize our allegiance to them in an expression of patriotism for the nation where we reside. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being proud of where you live or where you’re from. God intentionally has placed His children all over the world to reflect His heart to the people in those areas.

However, issues arise when our love for our nation is greater than our love for God. This world is not our home after all. Does that excuse us, His children, to disengage with the affairs of our nation of residence? Does that give us license to hate nation’s leaders? Of course not! As citizens of heaven, we have a responsibility to reflect the heart of God to our surrounding communities by loving our neighbors, respecting the authority placed over us (whether or not we agree with their actions) and living peaceably.

These responsibilities are difficult to hold in this cultural climate, especially living peaceably. In fact, it seems like the current “kings” of the nations are constantly at war with each other, but we aren’t moving any closer to peace. The reality is, we all want to feel like we matter and are valued. Many times, wars (big and small) begin because we feel the need to force an acknowledgement of value, but that is not way of the Kingdom.

There is enough room for everyone to be individually valued and for every voice to be heard. We are all individually designed to represent a unique aspect of God, and when we stand together with our differences instead of against each other because of them, we find peace. Only God can truly draw us together. The only banner that unifies every person and every nation is the banner of God our King. May we, the Church, raise His banner high wherever we find ourselves today.