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"Name Your King"
His name is Henk Otte. He is a middle-aged unemployed man on welfare in the Netherlands. He lives with his wife and two children in an Amsterdam housing project. He seems completely, absolutely ordinary. And he was, at least until 1995. That year, while visiting West Africa with his wife, his life changed radically.
During that visit, leaders told Otte that they believed he was the reincarnation of their deceased tribal chief. Following seventeen years without a leader, the Ewe tribe, made up of more than 100,000 people, believed that Otte should be their king. And now he is.
In Holland he is Henk Otte. But in Africa, he is "Togbe," or "king." His arrival is greeted with celebration. Throne-bearers carry him through masses of excited subjects. Drums play, dancers spin, and the focus of all their adoration is their king, who wears a crown and lives in a specially-built home. Several television documentaries have told the story of this improbable king. In fact, it's hard to imagine a less-likely king.
Of course there was one....
Grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Worked for years at a regular job, just like everyone else. Then one day, about the time he was thirty, he gave up his old job and started preaching. Wandered all over the place doing it, even though he had no real training. Finally ran into some trouble with the authorities for claiming that he was, you guessed it, a "king". He managed to offend his own people, the local authorities, and many more. They finally killed him for stirring up trouble. A pretty unlikely king..
Kings rise to the throne in one of three ways. Most are born into that role, and receive it by inheritance. Some take it by force. But a few are made king because people decide to make them king and serve them. That was the case with Henk Otte. And that is the case with Jesus Christ. He serves as king only of those who have chosen to name him as king. His subjects have all chosen to let him rule.
Who have you chosen as your king?
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LOVE Notes, by Mark Phillips, sent twice weekly. Subscribe by sending e-mail to Christianlovenotes-subscribe@onelist.com
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