the throne

We all have a throne and whoever or whatever sits on that throne is the ruler of our lives. This something can vary on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis, but as it sits there, it rules. What gets you up in the morning? What drives and motivates you? What are you chasing? What do you seek to gain from this day? What is the end goal for your lives? There you find your king.

Personally, I love to chase dreams. I have great ambitions and things that excite me - we all do, right? Whether this is a career, money or the status they provide, or just our passion to achieve them. Or, maybe, we seek that relationship with the girl or guy that has taken our fancy. Sometimes it can be a personal goal, such as getting a better physique or having more followers or likes on a form of social media. We may desire to have our name in lights or just to make that sports team. Even just having a great night out and going home with a girl can be something we want for a time.

I have, and sometimes still do, pursue many of these things I have mentioned. I have had dreams and ambitions in my life that I have both achieved and have not. From the age of 11 I dreamt of playing rugby at a high level, whether I was good enough or not was another matter, but I focused on this and made it my goal. So, when I was told for medical reasons I had to give up, a large part of my world came crashing down. I have also sought after relationships which I thought would provide me with the intimacy and satisfaction I needed and yet no level of intimacy was fulfilling. I have lived in pursuit of achieving a perfect body shape, but this never satisfies, it either traps or eludes me, because what is perfect? I have gone on nights out to get drunk and to do things I wouldn’t remember, but this just left me feeling as empty as ever. I have dreamt about fame, money and status with the belief that when I achieve any or all of them, I will be fulfilled. But, I have the scary feeling I won’t be - surely there must be more than this? Aren’t you the same?

What I have learnt, and am still in the process of learning, is how to be fully satisfied without any of these things. So, no matter what comes my way in life I will be fulfilled and satisfied. Jesus said, ‘I have come to give you life and life to the full’. We are often mistaken with Jesus; we think he came wielding a book of rules and discarding anyone who doesn’t stick to them. Yet after studying the person of Jesus, I realised he came to take us beyond the rules into adventure and relationship, he gave us the perfect example of how to live the most incredibly satisfying life. He shows us this is achievable through an intimate relationship with a loving God and a more balanced perspective of our ambitions and dreams. God is the one we should ultimately worship, not a status or a dream or a relationship, as these will never fulfil. However, there is still a place for these things because God created them to bring us excitement and joy but only if we sit God on the throne of our lives. These things, that we all sometimes place on our throne, were never meant to rule. The only one who is fit to rule and will truly satisfy if we worship and seek after Him, is God. Who’s sitting on your throne?