Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Pledge of allegiance

He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:14).

The Kingdom of Christ is unlike any earthly kingdom. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France recognized this truth during his days of exile on the island of St. Helena. Consider Napoleon’s thoughts, as he neared the end of his life: "You speak of empires and power. Well, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne and myself founded empires, but on what did we found them? Force. Christ founded His on love, and at this moment there are millions ready to die for Him…I see no army, no banner or battering ram; yet a mysterious power is there, working in the interest of Christianity—men secretly sustained here and there by a common faith in the great Unseen. I die before my time, and my body will be given to the earth as food for worms. Such is the fate of him called Napoleon the Great. But look to Christ, honored and loved in every land. Look at His kingdom, rising over all other kingdoms. His life was not the life of a man; His death not that of a man but of God."

How different a ruler Christ is from any emperor or president. Earthly kings write laws for their subjects to obey; Jesus lived His life perfectly to keep God’s Law for us. Earthly rulers tax their people in order to provide government services; our Lord gives us uncountable blessings, even though we have done nothing to earn or deserve them. Earthly presidents send their citizens off to face death as they fight the enemy; Jesus fought and defeated sin, death and the devil on our behalf on the cross, dying Himself in the process. Earthly leaders make all sorts of promises for a better nation to live in if we support them and their policies; the Son of God assures eternity in Paradise to those who pledge their loyalty to Him alone. Earthly officials try to manipulate us by frightening us or appealing to our greed; Jesus Christ offers us God’s love and makes the law of love the constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ’s kingdom is above every other kingdom, and it is to this land that I pledge myself:

"I pledge allegiance to the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, and to the faith for which it stands; one Savior, eternal, with mercy and grace for all."

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