A Type of Thrones

Martin's mental image of the Iron Throne
is that it sits asymmetrically, and that the
one seated on it is at least ten feet high. 

Thrones mean power and position. In contemporary culture, there is no throne more recognizable than the Iron Throne from George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Fire and Ice, popularized by HBO's televised adaptation, Game of Thrones. (Though I'm a huge fan of good fictional fantasy, I decided not to watch the show due to the kinds content they've chosen to include.) In fact, it's clear that the typical representation of the Iron Throne is actually much smaller than what Martin had envisioned in his head. The idea is that the Throne was made by a conquering king, created with a thousand swords surrendered by his enemies. Here is how one character describes the throne in A Storm of Swords:

Have you ever seen the Iron Throne? The barbs along the back, the ribbons of twisted steel, the jagged ends of swords and knives all tangled up and melted? It is not a comfortable seat, ser. Aerys cut himself so often men took to calling him King Scab, and Maegor the Cruel was murdered in that chair. By that chair, to hear some tell it. It is not a seat where a man can rest at ease. Ofttimes I wonder why my brothers wanted it so desperately.

This particular throne is a symbol of conquest, cruelty, and dominance. The one who occupies it has obtained it by ugly displays of power and treachery.

There is an uncomfortably easy connection between power and brutality, and this connection is not limited to fiction. When Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq in July 1979, within one week, he called out an assembly of the Ba'ath Party, his political enemies. In the meeting, a list of 68 names were read aloud, and all of them were arrested and removed from the room. All 68 were found guilty of treason, and 22 were sentenced to death. By August 1979, hundreds of his political foes had been executed. Whatever type of throne he sat upon, his power represented brutality, bloodshed, and ruthlessness.

In any tension between people and the one who rules them, the question often arises about the source of a person's power. "Who put you in charge?" It isn't uncommon for people to mutter under their breath about their superiors' use and misuse of rank and position. We speak this way frequently about our politicians, our police officers, and even about a wide array of people who are gatekeepers to whatever thing that we happen to want right now. 

It is our typical hangups about power and abuse that made a verse in Psalm 22 catch my attention:

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. (Proverbs 22:3-5)

Granted, there is plenty of language in Scripture about God conquering his enemies, but it is God's throne here that I find captivating: God sits enthroned on the praises of his people. There is an extent to which people can say, "Well, it's God, and if God says he's the King, there's nothing you can do to stop him." But God does not sit on a throne of swords or in a position that he has created through terror and treachery.

As the psalmist alludes to, God's people praise him because of the ways he's taken care of us. We've relied on God and found him to be trustworthy. We've been in situations too dense for us to navigate, and he has rescued us and blessed us. The end result of following God is that we've been honored, and not put to shame. The throne God occupies is made of the great praises we can offer because of what he's done for us. It is a reign of peace, blessing, and compassion. God will sit on a throne of well-deserved praise, and it his intention to earn it--not to force it--through the way he cares for us.

Each of us occupies some type of position in life that we have created for ourselves. Some do obtain their statuses in life through shrewdness and manipulation, but these positions have limited staying power. The kind of position we should desire in this life comes from what we sow in the lives of others, and it is not a respect that can be demanded. Precisely the opposite. To be known as a person of integrity. To be trusted as a person of character. To be remembered as a person of kindness and courage. These are powerful positions to occupy, yet they come through the path of service and humility. We shouldn't do good only when we believe we are likely to receive praise, but this should not hinder us from always striving to do things that are praiseworthy.

When it's all said and done, a throne of praise is better than a throne of iron any day.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:3-8)

We're moving to Tennessee

After several months of consideration, thought, and prayer, Carolina and I have decided to move to Tennessee. I will be starting a new job, working as an associate minister for the Old Hickory Church of Christ. I will be in charge of youth, education, and I'll be preaching once per month.

Their current preacher, Don Loftis, has been there for 15 years, and their last youth minister left them in May of '06, so I hope I can bring him some help and relief. The congregation is about 350 members with 6 elders, and it's located very near where I grew up. I played little league baseball about 4 miles from where the building is.

For several years now, I thought that the hardest thing I had ever done was asking Carolina's father (in Spanish) for permission to marry his daughter. Even though I spent several days thinking and praying about how I would announce this to the Rose Bud congregation, where I've been preaching for a little over three years, I just couldn't keep my composure. Leaving them is turning out to be about the hardest thing I've ever done.

I came to Arkansas in 1999 to go to Harding University. They hired me to preach for them in January 2004 at the age of 23. It was always hard to convince outsider people that I was old enough to be the preacher, but the people at Rose Bud have always believed in me, and have supported me the whole way through. I am convinced that I'll never be as close to another congregation as I feel to the people at Rose Bud. Carolina and I have no family here. I don't understand rural culture. I don't know how to ride a horse or tell what a good cow looks like. But they have gone out of their way to become like our family, and we love them so much.

Moving to Nashville is moving close to home for me, but I worry a lot about Carolina, who is really having to start from scratch. She has so many friends in Searcy, and is so well liked around the Harding community. But we're picking up and beginning a new leg in our life's journey. It is going to be so painful to stop seeing these people from week to week. At the same time, I think there are some great opportunities at Old Hickory that will challenge me in some new and different ways. Through all of these experiences, I'm convined that I'll become a more well-rounded person.

This has been a very hard decision to make, but we believe we have made the right one. The people at Rose Bud have been very supportive and loving. I knew that they would, but their kind hearts continue to overwhelm me. There are a few of the older members who I might never see again after we've moved. Talking with one of them after church whose health is declining, I just lost it and couldn't speak. I had to go to my office and weep for a few minutes. So I ask all of you--O Readers--to pray for several things:

1. Pray for Carolina and I. We're going to make some huge changes and adjustments. We'll be much closer to my family, but Carolina is not used to being surrounded by in-laws. We're having to sell our beautiful house here in Searcy, and find a new one in Nashville. This is already stressing us out. There is much to be done.
   
2. Pray for the Rose Bud Church of Christ. We've worked so hard to help strengthen this congregation, and I really want someone good to follow me so that the good work can continue when we're gone.
   
3. Pray for the Old Hickory Church of Christ. I've taken this position, because I see some ways in which I really believe they need my help. I hope that God will use me to help this good congregation.

This is one of those junctures in my life where I know things will never be the same again as they are right now. I hope my years at Old Hickory will be rewarding, as they have been at Rose Bud.