Johnny Cakes

There is an impostor on the throne. Coming from a “Christian” nation, most citizens of my homeland would say our values have warred against evil to try to shape policy. But the impostor I’m referring to is not political, and it doesn’t determine taxes or health insurance. The hundred or so followers of Jesus kept waiting for Him to dictate policy- they wanted a King they could crown, to rectify an incredible social injustice. He offered them a different way to live; He gave them the keys to a kingdom that didn’t run for office, or complain about someone else’s decision. He invited them into a kingdom that was all around, that completely bucked the authority of the impostor He saw clearly. The impostor is (albeit cheesily phrased) in each of us. His kingdom is personal, intimate, starting in each revolutionary that begins to glorify God.

The impostor is greed, corruption, lust, bitterness and anger, which we all are so acutely aware of in each other. But Lord, we sigh, they’re so, wrong! Or rich, and unwilling to give to the neglected. They’re so, well, evil, we exclaim, reveling in sin and full of deception. Snow White was the fairest of every woman in her kingdom, but not just physically. She was pure in heart; her identity was as a princess, sharing blood with a king, and not a supplicant. Her war was against the most sinister of impostors, one who did not share the inheritance, but took and bled others for her own purposes.

Snow White had to reclaim her birthright, to inspire courage and hope in those she led. We see the analogy quickly in social settings, wanting to fix the community in order for righteousness (the right way of things) to manifest, but Jesus invites us into a Kingdom where the evil one is dethroned in our hearts. This is the revolution we’ve been dying for, hoping for, longing for - Him glorified in each of us. It doesn’t make sense for those with the heavy burden of social justice, but His way can be counter-intuitive. It is also life. A cause can be promoted, but will never bring life.