101 of 365 - A Better King

 … and the government shall be upon His shoulders… Isaiah 9:6
 
You don’t have to spend much time following the news to realize the opinion of government today isn’t the greatest. Here’s the problem: we often desperately look to government to solve the problems of the day. People look at the government as the only thing big enough and powerful enough to help them. But we can see in one historical account after another that government run by humans is generally a mess. No human government will ever truly bring about peace and justice and righteousness.
 
Things weren’t much different in Isaiah’s day when he spoke this prophecy. The government at the time Isaiah was prophesying was messy and often oppressive and unjust. Things haven’t changed much since then. While no earthly government can make all things right, the Kingdom of God can.
 
This prophesied Messiah will be a King with a Kingdom. The government shall be upon His shoulders.
 
Here’s a little sneak peek into what is to come. Do you know what Jesus says when He begins His ministry?
 
He says, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
 
With the birth of the Messiah, a new kind of kingdom will be ushered in. We are part of it on this side of Jesus coming, but even now it is only a taste of the fullness of it. In God’s great story to us, He tells us how it will all end through a Revelation given to the apostle John. The Kingdom of God is at hand, but we wait for its ultimate rule when Jesus defeats Satan and death once and for all.
 
Questions: When you think about Jesus, do you think of Him as a king? Is He the king over your life? What do you think when you hear the “kingdom of God?”