The Royal Calling

Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

When I was little I loved to play dress-up, particularly by getting into my mom's lingerie closet. She had these long silk gowns in all different colors, some decorated with beading and pearls, others with delicate lace. I loved to don these with some of her costume jewelry. They enveloped my little frame, but I felt important and royal and sometimes I'd even pretend I was a princess, waving to my teddy bears and dolls as if they were my subjects. There was something about royalty and fairy tales that tugged at my little heart, something deep, something true.

And you don't have to be a child to still fall in love with the fairy tales. Today everywhere you look you're sure to see the excitement and bustle that happens during a royal wedding. People in every country, on every continent, of every age got up (or stayed up) to watch the first royal wedding in decades. There's something truly captivating about watching a fairy tale unfold right in front of us. It tugs at our hearts and captures our imaginations in a way that other affairs do not.

But why? Could it be that it somehow calls to a deeper part of our identity? Could it be that it calls out something that's true about each one of us? The Word tells us that because of Christ, we're no longer slaves, but sons (and daughters) of the King. (Rom 8:15ff) That makes us all princes and princesses--which makes us royalty. In fact, one day we're promised to reign as co-heirs with Christ! (2 Timonthy 2:11-12, Rev 22:4-6)

Deep within each of us is the truth--that we were made for more than this. God has set that desire within each of us so that we can know that this is not our home, this is not the place nor the position we were made for. It is a purposeful yearning, placed there by a loving Father (Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has also set eternity in the human heart) that brings us to this conclusion-we're not made for this world. We were made for so much more.

So while you watch Kate walk down the isle, and ooh and ahh over her royal wedding dress, remember that one day soon Jesus will also come for His Bride and we'll reign with Him in glory, a glory that will so far exceed any wedding or affair we'll ever imagine or know. Sarah Crewe's character in A Little Princess echoes what God longs to whisper to us daily:

You are a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young. They’re still princesses. All of us.
~A Little Princess (the movie)