Thursday, June 11
Responsibilities of Citizenship
HOW-TO
Key Text: Ps. 96:7-9
Once upon a time there was a
kingdom far away named heaven.
Everyone in the kingdom lived hap-
pily ever after because of the kind
and caring King, Jesus. We know
that this kingdom is not here yet,
but it will be soon. What do we do
in the meantime? We can practice
being a part of the kingdom. As
subjects of our Lord the King, we
have certain responsibilities.
1. Enjoying and rejoicing in the
kingdom. We can find gifts and
blessings from the King in every
part of our lives. Some are small
pleasures, like trying to communi-
cate with a vibrant parakeet
perched on your finger. Others
are events that earn a permanent
place in memory, like napping at
the top of a long mountain hike
while the ends of the earth sink
over the horizons all around us.
Make an effort to notice the
things worthy of praise and song
{see Ps. 96:1, 2; 97:1). Try to find
a new blessing each day no mat-
ter how insignificant it might
seem.
2. Contributing to the king-
dom’s growth and prosperity.
Every time we share with one an-
other in praise and worship for
the King (see Ps. 97:12; 99.3, 5,
9), we strengthen the unity of the
Christian family that makes up
the kingdom. We want to share
with others (see Ps. 96:2, 3) the
joy and light (see Ps. 97:11) of
being part of the kingdom so they
also may come in and worship the
Lord in the splendor of His holi-
ness (see 96:9).
A king and his subjects want
the kingdom to grow, to conquer
and save new lands. While we are
nurturing the growth of the king-
dom in our everyday lives, we will
encounter enemies. We need not
worry, though, and need only to
follow the King’s orders: “Sit at
my right hand until I make your
enemies a footstool for your feet”
(Ps. 110:1).
3. Sharing hopes, aspirations,
and troubles. Without communica-
tion each would be isolated from
the other, and soon the kingdom
would be in chaos and despair.
Prayer, praise, and meditation
thus are important responsibil-
ities for a subject. These activities
require effort because it is so easy
to be engulfed by our busy, day-to-
day, minute-to-minute schedules.
We don’t have time to praise the
King (except maybe for a few ha-
bitual seconds before meals). As
subjects, we have a responsibility
to take time for the King so our
personal relationship with Him
does not crumble. It is hard to re-
ceive a blessing when the King is
squeezed in at the end of a sched-
ule because there usually isn’t
time left over.
REACT
How do you reconcile subjec-
tion to God with your freedoms
and rights as an individual?
by Jose Clay-Flores
Jose Clay-Flores is an undergraduate student at Duke University, Dur-
ham, North Carolina.
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