Kingless in Cleveland?

On December 30, 1984, an alleged "king" was born in Akron, Ohio.  This baby grew up like any other child, except he had a remarkable ability to play basketball.  By his sophomore year at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, this "king" was nicknamed "Mr. Basketball" and was marketed in the national media as the NBA's next big superstar.  At just 18 years old, this "king," LeBron James, was drafted number one in the 2003 draft.

James later obtained the nickname of "king" in lieu of the actual fifteenth and sixteenth century King of England, King James. 

So why all of this fuss over a "king," who isn't even really a king?  Well, that is a good question and the answer is simple: The "king's" contract is about to expire, and there are a plethora of NBA teams who are giving up everything this year, in order to obtain the "king" next year.  That is, there are teams who have traded away all of their players, fired their head coaches, and cleared all of their salary space so that they could potentially sign James.  They believe, with all of their hearts (and checking accounts), that victory will come if they have the "king" on their side.

All of this caused me to think about how we, as Christians, believe that victory only comes with the true King, Jesus Christ.  Revelation 17:14 says that Jesus is the "King of kings."  This King has said, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).

Please don't misunderstand the illustration here.  By no means am I proposing that we should "throw in the towel" or "give up" in this life.  The life we live has a reason and a purpose, but it is not the only reason and purpose.  Jesus Himself prayed, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:16).  The idea is that we--like the Knicks, or the Heat, or the Clippers--have a hope in the arrival of a future king.  Thankfully, our hope extends further than a temporal NBA season; We can live eternally with the true King of kings and Lord of lords.  While our present lives have meaning, the meaning only has value through the scope of eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Without eternal life, what would be the purpose of earthly life?

Today, I encourage you to think about what it means to "seek first His kingdom."  By no means should we throw in the towel on the "season" of our lives.  Instead, we ought to be doing everything in our power to get ready for the King.  This means both living and sharing the Gospel, which literally is the "good news."  He is coming again! (Acts 1:11)