In Commonwealth Countries a few years ago, the announcement of a visit from their Queen caused quite remarkable preparations Flags and bunting were made ready in joyous anticipation of the day Some of the society women bought gorgeous gowns to wear only on this one occasion Diligent inquiries were made as to what the Queen wanted to see, whom she wanted to meet and any specific preferences she had in food or living conditions Everybody looked forward to a festive time of waving and cheering in gaily decorated streets with the excitement building up over a period of weeks, even months Of course they all knew something might happen to cancel the trip, such as illness, accident or unexpected affairs of state Yet the uncertainty did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm as they wanted to be sure they were prepared.
Are we prepared for our king?
There is no uncertainty about the coming of our King — we know he is coming We just don’t know when And what a King he is – “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” – who will come to sit m the throne of his glory We should plan a far greater welcome for him than any Queen of the commonwealth We should make every effort to be prepared so he will be pleased with all that he sees.
Our King is not interested in flags, food and his own living conditions, he is interested in people He wants to meet with his friends, who love him and keep his commandments.
Our King is interested m people of conviction, whose conviction is openly professed, and whose profession is seen in their conduct Furthermore, they must not be people who are wrapped up in themselves and what they can achieve by their own efforts What our King wants are people who rejoice in what they can do through the strength he supplies.
More than profession
There will be men who say, “We have heard of you preached in the pulpits, on the streets, over the radio and on TV, we have even heard your teachings preached by the Christadelphians ” Others will say, “I am a Christadelphian and I have heard your name preached in the ecclesias, I attended the meetings and did my daily Bible readings I’ve even read the Bible many times over.”
All these things may be good and some of them are necessary, but if they are the mere mechanical motions of a casual and sentimental acquaintance, the King will not be pleased The King wants to see men who have been striving to enter in at the straight gate When the King comes, casual and sentimental acquaintance will avail nothing It will not be sufficient to say, “We have eaten and drunk m thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets” To all such he will say, “I tell you, I know you not whence you are, depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13 27-28)
The King wants to be met by men and women who not only call out his name but who do the will of his Father As he said, “Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is m heaven He continued by say-mg, “Many will say to me m that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied m thy name? and m thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt 7 21-23)
Our King wants action
What the King wants is men who have sought his word, obeyed his word and have preached and taught his word He wants men like Ezra of whom we read “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7 10 NIV) This is the attitude and effort which will be considered as suitable preparation befitting the great King when he comes.
In considering our own actions, we need to be careful we do not substitute human standards for the divine We may attend fraternal gatherings and afterwards say, “The gathering of so large a number of brethren made me feel as though I was in the very kingdom itself” That may be good, but it may also mean we are of a sociable disposition and enjoy the resonant tones of a great unity of voices wafting upward We may also enjoy being at sisters class but again we need to regard our motives Is this just our social group, our friends with whom to associate?
It is important we do right and necessary things, but our motives for doing them are also important The things we do and the reasons for our actions must be an ever present realization and consciousness of the great.
God of heaven — the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy “If any man hath not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his” speaks of the mind, disposition and mode of thinking that pervades us.
Getting our thinking right
The way we think is determined by the things we file into our minds If we decide to truly welcome the King, we will be very careful m this respect We will see to it that what is going into our mind follows Paul’s instruction “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report think on these things” (Phil 4 8) These are the things found in the word of God, whose word must be a source of joyous direction to us His word is written to be useful for teaching the faith and correcting errors, for re-setting the direction of a person’s life and for training us in right living The holy scriptures provide the comprehensive equipment for the man of God to fit him fully for all branches of His work (II Tim 316-17).
The realization that God is and that He is a rewarder of all who diligently seek Him must be the springboard for all actions This mode of thinking should motivate us to live the way He wants us to live and that it is our duty and privilege to fear Him and keep His commandments.
Our King sees the heart
With worldly kings and queens, we can act a role and they may be deceived as to what we are thinking, but not with our King As the Psalmist says “O Lord thou hast searched me, and known me Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it” (Psa 139 1-6)
This means our King is watching us even now, knowing our thoughts If we are filling our minds with the language, actions, and emotions of the world, he knows it before our conduct begins to deteriorate He also sees when we are diligently trying to fill our mind with the right things and will work with us to obey his commands.
A right mind affects all behavior
What matters is how we behave at all times We are the sons of God — but that is only the case if we copy the actions of our Father Our behavior must be after the pattern of God.
If that is true, our behavior will be right when we are at home, away from the eyes of others, before whom we are inclined to play-act Parents will with all sincerity seek to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Husbands will love their wives even as Christ loves his church Wives will respect their husbands as the church does Christ.
Our behavior will be right at work, too We will do our work with goodwill, doing service as to the Lord, and not to men We will tell the boss of our position on issues, not bluffing our way Just to make him think well of us When we must tell men of the things we believe, it must be done boldly and unashamedly In fact, we ought to be ever on the alert looking for opportunities to preach the Truth If we are not, why not?
Those who are football or basketball fans Just bubble over with excitement the day after a big game They cannot contain themselves and if allowed they will go on for hours talk-mg about various aspects of the game On such trivia, men speak unashamedly Why should we who have m our hands the word of life, the realities of tomorrow, be hesitant or afraid to say a word here or there on the things we believe?
If we are truly sons of God, we will act toward our brethren who are at fault with a compassion which surrounds them with an atmosphere of love, rather than an attack which knocks them down with a battery of criticism We will not be like the school master dealing out harsh strokes or possessed of a haughty attitude which scorns the other There should be an ever-present remembrance of our own faults and feelings.
Our King is coming, are we ready?
The great day is coming and these are some of the ways in which we must prepare to meet our King These things comprise a form of welcome which alone will be acceptable He will welcome people with bright faces and fine clothing, but not the faces or attire admired by the world The clothing our King wants is worn by those who have come “out of great tribulation and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7 14) The faces he looks for are those who have beheld “as in a glass the glory of the Lord, [and] are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Cor 3 18)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One