Who is this King of Glory?

No trip anywhere in Wien is complete without some ice cream. Seriously...it's dangerously good. (And yes, John does have some on the tip of his nose. :)

Our family is hooked on the audio guide. This was on our trip to the Mozarthaus here in Wien.

For Spring Break, they got to choose some stuff they wanted to do in our city. The Mozarthaus was John's choice. He is going through a Mozart phase. Seriously--he's Mozart crazy right now!!

Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Psalm 24: 8

Sometimes, a perfect storm occurs, and it makes it impossible for me to do anything but write about a particular topic. This is one of those times. My book of the Bible for 2012 (the one I'm reading and studying my way through) is Psalms, and I just made it to chapter 24. (Yes, I DID start on January 1st. I'm thorough.) I'm also studying the gospels, beginning with Matthew. (Yes, I DID start that way back in October. I'm very thorough.) And last night, at our church's Good Friday service, I sang an old song I haven't sung in years--Lamb of God by Twila Paris. This is a perfect storm for me, one in which everything around me is pointing to one thing (or in this case, one Person): Jesus. Who is this King of Glory? He's Jesus.

As part of my study of Matthew, I highlighted everything Matthew tells us about who Jesus is, what He thinks, how He acts. I've spent the last three days putting them in my journal during my quiet time, as a sort of reflection on God's greatest gift to us. It's too long a list to put on this blog--I counted this morning, and there are 81 sentences about who Jesus is. But I wanted to share the last part of the list with you on this Easter Saturday, as we all remember that time between His burial and His resurrection, that time when it must have seemed that all light and hope and love had left the world.

Jesus:

• weeps for Jerusalem.
• wants us to know the truth.
• calls the nations to Himself.
  
• knows the end of the story.
• is the end of the story.
• is coming in His glory to take His throne.
• cares for the least of these.
• loves to be lavishly adored.
• does not beat around the bush.
• knows we will fail often, but wants us to try anyway.
• knows the sting of betrayal.
• will come again.
• was denied and abandoned by His closest friends.
• is righteous.
• was beaten but did not utter a hateful word.
• died.
• was buried.
• rose from the dead.
• is always with us, no matter where in the world we go in His Name.

As I've put this list of who Jesus is in my journal, I have been overwhelmed by not only my love for Him, but His enormous love for me. He is the demonstration of God's love for the whole world. He's more than a great story. He's everything. The whole ballgame. But He's also a choice. You either follow Him or you don't, but He gives you the choice. There is no middle ground with Him. If anything became clear to me during this particular part of my study, it's that He's an all-or-nothing Savior, unimpressed by our good works and the things we say or do that we think are "righteous." He is righteousness. He is love. He is everything.

He is the reason I am here in Austria. I would love nothing more in the world at this moment than to be sitting with my parents in their living room in Middleburg, Florida, planning our Easter dinner together. But Jesus, the Lamb, the Holy, Righteous, Perfect Son of God died for me. Then He asked me nicely to follow Him to Austria. And for our family, that was no choice at all. We had to follow Him. I cannot imagine saying no to the One who gave His life for me. And not on the spur of the moment, not on a whim. He came to give His life for me. I love Him for so many things, for so many reasons, but I love Him most of all because He knew what His purpose was here. He knew all along. And He came, anyway, because He loved me and you that much. What kind of King does that for His people? My King. King Jesus.

Our Good Friday service was quite somber and for me, very moving. And while I loved singing with Hannah (one of God's kindnesses to me is the chance to sing with my girl), and I loved reading a portion of the story, the most moving thing for me, oddly, was lighting and blowing out the one candle that was lit in the room. I didn't say anything, and was surprised when, as I went to light the candle, the familiar words ran through my mind: Behold the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. Then, when I blew out that one light, that one candle representing the Holy Lamb of God, I was struck by the way the darkness suddenly filled the room. I imagine that's how it seemed in Jerusalem that terrible, wonderful Good Friday. And maybe there are things in your life and your world that seem exactly that way--that darkness has filled every nook and cranny. The good news of Jesus is this: no matter how it may seem that darkness has won, that there is no hope, that all is lost...the sun dawns on Easter Sunday, the stone is rolled away, and the tomb, my friends, is empty. He is not here. He rose, just like He said. Hallelujah. Amen.

Wherever you are in the world, I pray that this will be a day to reflect on God's absolute love for you, and that your friends are coming for a visit this week, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye