Royalty

What a week it has been. I started a new job this week. I really enjoy it and am so excited about the opportunities I have with it. Talk about God’s timing. Three years ago I gave myself a three year window and started looking for a job which would allow me to utilize my Masters degree and knowledge. I have applied for well over 100 jobs in those three years and interviewed numerous times. Sometimes it took everything I had to keep my hopes up as I sent off yet another resume or application. Even when I knew I was more than qualified for whatever position I was applying for, the chances of getting an interview are usually quite slim, as I discovered. Then, not quite two weeks before I was getting ready to go back to my job at the high school, I received an email inviting me to an interview for a position I forgot I had applied for.

And so I ended up with a new job, just within the three year time frame I was shooting for. They were a long and difficult three years, but not been a wasted three years.  My faith was often stretched to the breaking point. I have grown as a person and have learned to separate respect for myself from my worth as an employee. That is a priceless lesson and one I wouldn't trade for anything.

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I used to teach a lesson to the kids in Awana about our value before God. I would tell them to hold their heads high, to look people in the eye, and to accept their infinite value and worth. After all, I would tell them - if you think about it, we are ROYALTY! Our Father is a King. Once, a girl said, “Then that means I am a princess!” She was so excited and beautiful and precious. And I said, “Yes, you are.” When I was in line at Kroger the other day, I flipped through a magazine to see pictures of the new Prince of Cambridge, George, son of William and Kate. And once again it struck me that the men in the royal line are a rather homely bunch of fellows, but they land some gorgeous wives. Nothing wrong with being unattractive, but being a prince sure helps sweeten life for them.

When you look at England's princes, you don’t seem them self-consciously looking at the ground, trying to hide from public view. They don't appear to feel awkward about or even aware of their homeliness. Instead, they walk with their heads held high. They look the world in the eye. Their royal position overshadows their physical imperfections, and they know it. So that leads me to think about me and all other Christian believers. England’s royal family is something of a placeholder at this point in history, with no real function, just position. But the King Who is our Father is the King over all Kings. God is in no way a placeholder. He created this world and He is working and moving in it in myriad supernatural ways even today. And WE are His children. WE are His princes and princesses. When a person believes Jesus died for his/her sins and asks God to be in his/her life - that individual is instantly born into spiritual royalty! And that is far better than anything a worldly king might have because it cannot be taken away. 

If I realize that, my head should be held high. I should approach the world with the serene acceptance and knowledge of my royal position. It doesn't matter what I look like or have accomplished. And it's not because I am better than any other single individual out there. In reality, Prince William’s role has nothing to do with anything he has done or accomplished, it’s just a matter of being born into the royal family,  and my role is not about me. It’s a matter of being born into God’s family. My place, and yours, my brothers and sisters, is in this world, yet not of this world. We are spiritual royalty and I think we should acknowledge and embrace that Truth. God promises us blessing and care and riches that can’t be counted with money. 

So, put your shoulders back. Hold your chin high. Meet the world with dignity and peace and calm assurance of your place in the royal family.