The Royal Family

“And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.”  Deuteronomy 28:13

There are a great many people who live mediocre lives, who fail to live up to their potential, and who do not really have goals and ambitions for their lives.  This lackadaisical attitude doesn’t just affect the secular world, but it also can be a real hindrance to a Chistian’s spiritual growth.  Speaking of mediocrity, I had an annual physical recently, the first one that I have had since COVID began.  My doctor was looking at my chart on her laptop apparently impressed by my test results for an old lady, and exclaimed, “You are amazing”.  I said, “No one ever said that about me before”, but I was thinking, “I am not amazing, just mediocre or maybe not even that”.  Folks use the term “amazing” to described lots of things that aren’t really amazing.  Grace is amazing.  How sweet the sound.

Some Christians and unbelievers seem to have just given up on life because the world is in such turmoil, their lives are not turning out as they desired, or the “light at the end of the tunnel” is growing dim.  Unbelievers don’t want to give up their sinful desires, and some believers see the Christian life as too demanding.  It’s easier to just fall back into the old life of sin, but where’s the benefit in that?  God has great plans for everyone who will follow Him and obey His commandments.  In God’s economy, those who trust in Him and make Him first in their lives, He gives places of leadership.  We are not just some poor sinners saved by grace, we are children of the King, members of THE royal family.

Recently Queen Elizabeth passed away at the age of 96, a long life lived from all indications as a servant of Jesus Christ.  I didn’t know that much about her, but when I heard some excerpts of things that she had said about her faith, I was really impressed.  I wish that we could all have heard more of her testimony while she was alive, but, of course, the godless media would not broadcast godly and uplifting words of praise to Christ.  The Queen came from a long line of men and women who served in the capacity of kings and queens over Great Britain.  They were called royalty.  I don’t know how royal families come to be, but there have been kings and queens, princes and princesses all throughout history.  There are many kings mentioned in scripture, some over Israel with the most notable being King David and King Solomon and others over Gentile nations.  There are still some kings reigning over countries, particularly in the middle east, but most countries are led by presidents or prime ministers.  God did not intend for men and women to have a human king rule over them (I Samuel 8:7).  He was and is the only real King.

Those believers who desire to give up, who do not realize that they belong to the royal family which allows them privileges that the world knows nothing of, should pay attention to something that Peter said in John 6:66-68.  Some of Jesus’ followers decided that it was just too difficult to be one of his disciples, so they turned back and no longer walked with Him.  Jesus looked at His twelve disciples and asked, “Will you also go away?  Peter, the disciple who was never afraid to speak up, answered Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life”.  The disciples, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, knew where their future lay.  Judas allowed greed to destroy his future.

I may be a nobody to the world, but God sees me as His child.  He paid a high price to include me and everyone who names the name of Christ in His family, His royal family.  God is our King, but He is also our Father.  Jesus, as God, is also our King, and we are His brothers and sisters.  Like the Psalmist (3:3) said, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness”.  I had rather be in the palace any day than in the slums.