Line Of Succession

Read: Luke 22:24-30

[Jesus said,] “You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me.” Luke 22:28-29, NIV

IN WORD

Most Christians are humbly reluctant to see their role in the Kingdom as significant. “It’s all Him,” we say. And there’s truth to that. As He told His followers, they can do nothing without Him (John 15:5). But He didn’t say they have no importance, that they have no role in His Kingdom, or that they have no authority in that role. He did not call them meek and lowly servants who should never assume anything more than that they were sinners saved by grace. No, He elevated them to the status of friends and conferred on them a Kingdom. Like a prince going away on a journey, He gathered His closest loyal partners around Him and gave them royal responsibilities.

The fascinating line in this verse is about how this Kingdom is being conferred: “just as my Father conferred one on me.” Not something less than the Father’s gift to the Son, not a responsibility more suited to a mere employee, but “in the same way as” His Father handed the Kingdom over to Him. We can hardly believe Jesus would entrust such a treasure to this group of followers, but He did anyway. And that begs a startling question: Did He also hand it over to us?

He must have. The first group of disciples is no longer around to manage Kingdom affairs. It’s true that they have a special role in sitting on thrones and judging the twelve tribes of Israel, as verse 30 tells us, but the Kingdom is handed down to every successive generation of royal stewards. That’s us. We have a huge role to play.

IN DEED

Don’t take that role lightly. Let it shape your priorities, your goals in life, your relationships now and forever, and even your moment-by-moment interactions and activities. Your words matter. Your decisions matter. Your attitudes matter. Everything in your life is now Kingdom business. The Prince has said so. The Kingdom given to Him by the Father is, in very significant ways, in your hands.

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Peter 2:9-10

The price of greatness is responsibility.

WINSTON CHURCHILL