Hidden Christmas: Where is the King?

Never once have I considered myself in the same company as King Herod. A jealous king so threatened by Jesus’ birth and proclaimed kingship that he sought out to kill many innocent children to eliminate the competition. Yet, as Tim Keller puts it, “there is a little King Herod inside of all of us.”

Sitting in this reality, a piece of me died. He’s right, there are times in my life I have wanted something so badly that I lost site of what the Lord was asking. Although I didn’t physically kill young boys, death surrounded me. People were wounded and God’s glory was smothered. Ouch, that hurts!

The battle of giving all of who we are to the Lord isn’t easy. We are asked to die to self and allow the Lord to work in and through us daily. We are asked to release the King Herod in us, to release our selfishness. As Hidden Christmas shares, “it means we have got to be more intentional about Christian growth, about prayer, and about accountability to other people to overcome our bad habits.”

Crazy thing, it doesn’t matter who we are, rich or poor, young or old, we all have bad habits. Yet, instead of being shocked by this reality, we need to claim it. The question isn’t whether we battle this tension; the question is whether we know we are even in a battle? Not until we claim it, can the healing truly begin.

Christmas means, it doesn’t matter who we are, it matters who Jesus is. It doesn’t matter what we do, it matters what Jesus does through us. Jesus destroys the King Herod in us and offers true joy. What bad habits are keeping you from this joy? In other words, where is the King in your life?