Taken from Mrs. Charles E. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Vol. Two
“Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: for thou art my rock and my fortress,” (Psalm 71:3).
Near the Capitol in Rome there stands an ancient building, built when Christianity was still very young in the world. In one of its corridors is a stone bench where the little pages sat waiting calls from their masters. On the wall, right over the bench, is scratched a rude cross with an outstretched figure on it. Beneath it the mischievous artist had cartooned one of his companions, and had written, “Silly Aleximos worships Christ.” The other boys thought it strange that Aleximos should look up to Jesus Christ as his King. For, as someone has pointed out, the world had never seen a King who had no possessions…
At His birth Jesus was born in a borrowed manger. He preached a sermon in a borrowed boat. He rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed beast. He ate His last supper with His disciples in a borrowed room. He was buried in a borrowed grave. Yet He stands, the Living, Risen Son of God, stripped of all earthly possessions, saying, “All authority has been given Me in heaven and earth.”
Other kings have always needed to be propped up; have needed to lean against many supports: gold in the treasury to buy men’s souls; a host of marching legions to destroy all opposition; games in the arena to keep the crowds in good humor; bread to feed the hungry to keep them from becoming dangerous.
But Jesus Christ leaned on none of these supports. He leaned only on the Eternal God, the unseen and everlasting Father. And, while the supports of other kings had always crumbled in the end, the Supporter of Jesus stood firm as Pilate growled, ‘Behold your King!’; stood unshaken as the mob yelled, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’
Then Easter came, and the centuries began to file by; and the world began to see that true Kingliness needs no gold or armies to hold it up. Men began to see that a Kingly Spirit stands unbroken, unbreakable, before all the blows of life, because the Spirit of the Living God within a man is stronger than any enemy there is!