Bruce Collins, Evangelist

The personal website of Bruce Collins

King of the Hill

 
(Luke 23:33 NKJV) “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.”
(Acts 1:11 NKJV) “who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.”
 
Two Hills
Calvary was the place of the crucifixion of the Lord.  It was where criminals died.  The actual location is debated but it is generally assumed to be a hill.  The Bible says it was outside the city gates of Jerusalem. 
 
The Mount of Olives was a place where the Lord often went.  Bethany was on the eastern slope of the Mount.  Bethany was the home of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. This was the place of the ascension of the Lord after His resurrection.  
 
King of the Hill
As I write this meditation, two men and their political parties are playing King of the Hill here in the US.  Both claim to have won the recent election and they want to knock the other person off the top of the political hill on which they are playing.  When I was a kid (a couple of years back) we used to play king of the hill once in a while on a mound of dirt or in some cases using a pile of leaves,  As I remember the game, someone always ended up crying.  The game has a problem.  Once you have secured the top of the hill, you have nowhere to go but down, and others who are playing the game will do their best to make sure you understand that.
 
But what I find interesting is that spiritually, the losers in this game are the winners and the winners are the losers.
 
Using the Lord as our Example
Who would have called the Lord a winner as he was being mocked on that hill called Calvary?  His tormentors said, “He saved others, himself he cannot save.”  And they were right.  If He had saved Himself (and He had the power to do that), He couldn’t have been the sinner’s substitute.  He couldn’t have saved those of us who trust Him.  He appeared to lose big time.  Except there is the problem of the empty tomb, and the ascension, and the promise to come again.  This “loser” was actually victorious.
 
What will happen to those who thought they were King of the Hill when they crucified the Lord?  Well, my Bible says that their descendants who will represent them one day will be crying for protection from this One that they crucified.  Revelation 6:15-16 says, “And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!’”  Who will be King of the Hill then?
 
Men just don’t get it  
God doesn’t think like we think.  He says, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:11-12).”
 
I wouldn’t want to be King of the Hill in this life because the only way to go from the top is down.  The only one who is going to win this game permanently is the Lord and He won by losing. 
 
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,  and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-11 NKJV)
 
It is time for Christians to quit their evangelical fervor for one political winner verses the other. The only permanent winner is the Lord.  At the cross He was rejected by Jews and Gentiles alike.  He is still being rejected by the world and that includes the religious world. His true and faithful followers are considered by many to be losers.   But one day He will come back to the Mount of Olives as the victor.  My trust is in Him.  He will be King of the Hill
 
Bruce Collins
 
Meditation for the week of November 8, 2020

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