There once lived a king, not too different from you or me,
who had what he needed, did what he wanted, and lived rather luxuriously.
One day he heard of a Kingdom, one greater than any before;
Upon hearing this message, he decided to go find out more.
He traveled and wandered across the land,
with crown on his head and scepter in hand.
Nearing this kingdom he’d heard so much about,
he soon came to find many walking back in a pout.
“They won’t let you in,” they told him, “you might as well turn around!”
“Don’t waste your time, there’s nothing good in that Kingdom to be found.”
The king continued on, however, wondering what he would see,
asking himself, “Could all of this be true? How could all of this be?”
Upon reaching the walls of this Kingdom so bright,
this king came to see a most pitiful sight:
There were more kings and queens, rulers dressed in all their might,
begging and beating on the doors, but the doors were sealed tight.
The king observed for an hour or two,
puzzling and questioning how to get through.
He walked and he paced,
pondering the dilemma he faced,
exclaiming, “Why won’t this Kingdom let me in?
“I live richly as I please; my days are full of ease—really, is this such a sin?”
As he walked near the doors with his troubled mind,
this king discovered the most curious find.
He saw a robe and crown, lying there on the ground
with no ruler to fill them anywhere to be found.
The king continued thinking, staring there at the floor,
“This robe and this crown, what on earth could they be for?”
“Was the owner of this garb simply trying to hide?
Or could it be, just maybe, that this person found their way inside?”
The king sat for hours, thoughts flying through his head,
and the more that he wondered, he soon began to dread.
Finally he stood, with a tear in his eye.
After asking and questioning, this was his cry:
“I’ve lived my life in the way I would choose,
not worried about the next day, having nothing to lose.
However, now I realize what I had not before:
This robe and crown lying here at this door
Serve as a lesson that I can no longer ignore.”
“Though I once had a rule I thought was most high,
There is truly a Lord much greater than I.
In order to enter as I have desired,
I must submit to what is required:
I must give up the selfish rule I have set,
Denying my own will, without an ounce of regret.
For to be a part of this kingdom, indeed,
I must give up my rule, and let the true King lead.”
The king then took off his robe and his crown,
In that very place, he laid his old life down.
And in that moment the gate opened wide,
no longer was this man kept outside.
While the others continually begged and pleaded,
this man, now a servant, learned what he needed:
“In order to be part of this Kingdom divine,
I, in humility, must give up this rule of mine.”
Though this may be just a story to tell,
the lesson within is what we should hear, and hear it well.
We all, in our lives, have the desire to rule—
how we live, what we do—but in this, we are a fool.
Submitting ourselves to His rule, day after day,
Is what is required to live the Lord’s way.
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