In chess we're used to talking about the king in ways that show his importance: the king's safety is paramount; the king must be protected at all costs. The tall lady Queen has all of the power to protect her king and attack the opposing king. She zooms around the board moving every which way while her king stays safely in the back waiting for her to win the battle. The armies of black and white pieces rush forward while the kings ostensibly direct the battle from the rear hoping to avoid any real danger. Should a sacrifice be required, the king is all too eager to tell his soldiers to give themselves up because he never has that option. If the king allows himself to be taken, the game is over and lost. With the ability to only move one square at a time, the king is one of the weakest pieces on the board. He can hardly defend himself or move out of the way of an impending attack. He is utterly defenseless.
In this world our existence is not unlike that of a king in chess. We think we rule the board as kings when in fact we are weak, powerless, and utterly hopeless to save ourselves. There is no queen to save us and no pawns to deflect incoming attacks. We sit in a corner waiting for the inevitable checkmate that we all know is coming and are powerless to predict it, delay it, or stop it.
At Christmastime we celebrate the birth of the one true King. The Son of God entered into His creation as a helpless baby boy to offer salvation to all of humanity. Jesus Christ, the king of kings, was born to accomplish what no other king on a board or in the world could ever do. He was born to sacrifice His perfect life as payment for our transgressions against a Holy God to give us a pathway out of our hopeless sin and into eternal life. In chess, the King could never sacrifice himself; in chess the King hides in a corner waiting for all the other pieces to sacrifice themselves in his defense. Jesus Christ ran to the front lines, suffered the abuse, wrath, and scorn that we all deserve, and died so that we could live. He didn't break the rules of the game: he solved the game so that we never have to play it again should we so choose.
Like all of us, His life started as a helpless baby in the arms of his mother. Today we celebrate this innocuous beginning not because we want to shower our loved ones in gifts or have the latest and greatest new toy like this were the best birthday ever, but because the King of Kings has come, the work is done, and salvation is at hand. Merry Christmas.
In this world our existence is not unlike that of a king in chess. We think we rule the board as kings when in fact we are weak, powerless, and utterly hopeless to save ourselves. There is no queen to save us and no pawns to deflect incoming attacks. We sit in a corner waiting for the inevitable checkmate that we all know is coming and are powerless to predict it, delay it, or stop it.
At Christmastime we celebrate the birth of the one true King. The Son of God entered into His creation as a helpless baby boy to offer salvation to all of humanity. Jesus Christ, the king of kings, was born to accomplish what no other king on a board or in the world could ever do. He was born to sacrifice His perfect life as payment for our transgressions against a Holy God to give us a pathway out of our hopeless sin and into eternal life. In chess, the King could never sacrifice himself; in chess the King hides in a corner waiting for all the other pieces to sacrifice themselves in his defense. Jesus Christ ran to the front lines, suffered the abuse, wrath, and scorn that we all deserve, and died so that we could live. He didn't break the rules of the game: he solved the game so that we never have to play it again should we so choose.
Like all of us, His life started as a helpless baby in the arms of his mother. Today we celebrate this innocuous beginning not because we want to shower our loved ones in gifts or have the latest and greatest new toy like this were the best birthday ever, but because the King of Kings has come, the work is done, and salvation is at hand. Merry Christmas.