In the Throne Room of the King

“On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.  And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.” -Esther 5:1-2, ESV

Royalty is kind of a lost concept on me. I have never been fascinated by the British Royals or the fawning media coverage they receive. Even so, much of the Bible and our concept of God is helped if we can get some understanding of how royalty works and how one ought to behave in the presence of a king. Afterall, many of the pictures we have of God are of Him seated on a throne. Jesus is given the titles, “King of kings” and “Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19) While we don’t have much present cultural context for royalty, there are many stories (both true and fiction) that can help us see how one behaves in the presence of a king. Esther’s example here in chapter 5 is one such moment. She is the queen, but hardly approaches the king as an equal. She has not been summoned and certainly does not presume to be welcomed. She approaches carefully, properly dressed, and moves toward the king only after he extends the scepter. To go to the king as she did was a matter of life or death. There is much to be learned here. If we see God as our King (and I would argue we must), our approach to Him has to be examined. Do we have a sense of reverence when we go to God? Do we approach Him as “high and lifted up” or as we might a long-time friend. Now, please don’t misunderstand, I know that in Jesus, we can and should approach the throne of grace with confidence (see Hebrews 4:16) but I am confessing that sometimes I forget it’s a throne. Rather than reverence, my approach betrays presumption. How did I get there? I am sure by more than one pathway and yet, the one that seems most prominent is my perception of God as safe. He’s not but, often that is how I’ve made Him. I would go so far as to say that this is, in fact very natural, very human. We make God in our image because it is far easier than accepting the reality that it is quite the other way around. God made us in His image. We are to be bears of His likeness. But, if we are honest, that makes us feel far to small and frail and unimportant. It puts us in a subordinate opinion and that is the last place we feel comfortable. It is though, our place. Subordinates to the King. And so, I find myself on a journey to tear down the god made in my image and to put in its place the One True God, The King of kings. The God who is not safe. Lately I’ve been helped greatly by Mark Buchanan’s book, Your God is Too Safe. I would commend it to you and want to close by sharing a bit from its pages. Here is something to think on as you seek to further apply your heart to the rightful entrance into the King’s throne room:

“Your God is too safe.

The safe god asks nothing of us, gives nothing to us. He never drives us to our knees in hungry, desperate praying and never sets us on our feet in fierce, fixed determination. He never makes us bold to dance. The safe god never whispers in our ears anything but greeting card slogans and certainly never asks that we embarrass ourselves by shouting out from the rooftop…

The safe god has no power to console us in our grief or shake us from complacency or rescue us from the pit….But God isn’t nice. God isn’t safe. God is a consuming fire.” – Ibid. pgs. 31, 33

What keeps your heart worshipping the safe god?

How will you tear down this idol and replace it with the One True God, the King of kings?