Like a monarch butterfly
The kingdom of God
Looks for a place to land
In your heart.

The monarch who matters most is the ever-living, ever-present King Jesus. King Jesus can set you free from the tyranny of your own desires. The monarchy every society needs is not a political king, but the functional kingship of the ever-living, ever-present Jesus.

God wanted to rule as King of ancient Israel, but they preferred a political king. (Human nature hasn’t changed.) When Israel asked for a king so they can “be like all the other nations,” God said, “They have rejected Me as their king.” When the kingdom of God, the city of God, the government of God, are ignored, people look instead to human authority.

If Jesus Christ isn’t enthroned in your heart, you’re outside of the kingdom of God. Crown Him as your King! The Crown in your heart belongs to the ever-living Jesus, yet you have the power to withhold it from Him. Reorient your thinking and behavior to God’s monarchy. Jesus put it this way: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

The invisible King, the ever-living Jesus, is easily dethroned from a human heart. Disloyalty to Him is widespread. O that people would pour out their hearts in love and affection for King Jesus as they did for Queen Elizabeth! He ever lives!

King Jesus is too often treated like King Charles. Although He reigns, we refuse to let Him rule. When churches make a pastor the head of the congregation, they turn Jesus into a mere figurehead instead of the functional Head and living King! If churches were effective at making godly disciples of King Jesus, so many church goers wouldn’t be embracing ungodliness.

I’m a royalist. The ever-living, ever-present Jesus is my King, and He has adopted me as a member of His royal family.

The idea of an earthly monarch is a distraction from the kingdom of God. When the people wanted to make Jesus their political king, He refused. Their “Hosannas” couldn’t distract Him from His mission.

The only one with a divine right to be a king is Jesus! When we neglect to give our loyalty and obedience to the monarchy of Jesus, we reject the kingdom of God.

There’s only room for loyalty to one king in a person’s life. I surrender to the presence, power, and authority of King Jesus.

Make Jesus your King, not self! As much as you love yourself by focusing on and taking care of your own needs and desires, love your neighbor in the same way. Jesus didn’t advocate self-love. How could He? He preached self-denial, taking up your cross, and following Him. Jesus wants us to love others as much as we focus on our own desires and needs. He calls us to shift our focus from self to others.