LIONS & KINGS

Kiara didn’t want the responsibility of being queen. It was a heavy burden for her to bear, or so her young
mind thought. She wanted to be herself. To run wild and free. The kingdom was the last thing on her mind.
But the words that her father had just shared with her still rung in her head. “It’s who you are. As long as
you live here it’s your destiny”
She could choose to run away and escape the responsibility of the kingdom but you see it’s in her blood.
She couldn’t escape it. It was written in her DNA. She was her father’s daughter, the daughter of a king.
And it didn’t matter the distance that she could put between herself and her home. She was who she was.
I love Lion King the animation. It takes a true fan to notice that I just quoted the 2nd movie in the trilogy.
I’ve always shared with my friends that the 1st and 2nd movies in the Lion King series carry a lot of spiritual
truths. I could go on and on about it but I challenge you to go watch the trilogy.
Anyway, like I was saying, Kiara had a huge responsibility that she would eventually take on after her
father, Simba. Yet this is the reality for most of us who are called children of God. Our Father, the King is
giving us the kingdom alongside all the resources that come with it. Our response? Run away.
Often times we become overwhelmed by what it means to run a kingdom and we would rather turn the
other way and seek our own conveniences. Fear can be crippling. Fear of what lies ahead. I once read a
quote that say “The problem with us is not that we are afraid of being inadequate, but that we are more
powerful beyond measure” paraphrasing of course.
But why do we let fear cripple us? I would like to submit that it isn’t because we are afraid of failure but
because we are afraid that our success will be huge. This level of success translates into renewed
responsibility. And just like Kiara, we would rather have the freedom to run around and be “ourselves”
The problem with that is that we lose out on true life as God intended it. As much as we may want to deny
it or escape it, we are our Father’s sons. The kingdom is ours and we need to be concerned about its goingson.
Self has always been the biggest enemy of real dominion as God intended it for us. But thank God
there is a remedy for it. Jesus Christ.
Are you suffering from self-righteousness? Jesus is the remedy. Self-esteem issues? Jesus is the remedy.
Selfishness? Jesus is the remedy. Self-absorption? Self-abasement? Any adjective that has self before it?
Jesus is the remedy. He makes us co-heirs with Him and gives us the power to reign with Him. The kingdom
is now ours and that shouldn’t scare us. It should empower us. It’s an opportunity to really matter, to make
a difference and impact millions of lives.
So what’s stopping you? Are you afraid? Don’t worry, you are a king. Will people criticize you, it’s ok, a lion
never lost sleep over the opinion of bleating sheep. Do you feel like you don’t have the resources? All the
resources needed are found within the kingdom. And guess who holds the kingdom? You guessed it.
So I charge you again. Get up and take the rulership. It is far sweeter to be a king than to be a slave. Ooh,
and if you are worried about finding yourself, believe me you will come to the conclusion that you are a
king.