It’s the last week of the year for Christians.  Christ the King is the final Sunday.  Soon our new year begins with Advent. Everyone else lets Christmas end the year. For us Christians, it’s the beginning of things. 

It’s like that all the time, it seems. We Christians are in the world but not of it. Like salmon swimming upstream, we face a current of opposition from the world. We stand opposite of everyone else on nearly everything. Our values are different, our priorities, our convictions. One doesn’t have to look very hard to see that. The official government policies are an example. We say feed and welcome the stranger. They say lock them up. 

I’m tired of it. As I sat down to write today, I was overwhelmed by the desire to roll over and float downstream. Just to be like everyone else. To blend in.  Have you ever felt that way? (I hope you’ll endorse me by admitting that you have.)

But then there is the King. (The true king, not the duke of Orange.) He has called us into his service, and pledged to protect us into eternity. He demonstrated how much farther upstream it is possible to go. 

Somehow having him as King makes the loneliness and frustration worth while. As long as he’s King I pledge my sword to him. 

I’ll go on being different as long as he lives and reigns.

Peace be with you,

NORM