I have a confession to make.
I've been watching video and examining pictures of the future king of England marrying his bride all day. Poor Caleb got no breakfast because I was too busy watching them say, "I do."
Sorry, honey!
I'm just fascinated by the whole thing. First of all, I'm a girl, so I'm pretty much fascinated by any wedding. But I can't stop wondering, how do you actually meet a prince and get to be a princes??? Do you plot, plan, and train your whole life in a carefully orchestrated dance intended to put you in the right place at the right time? Or are you just hanging out with friends one day when the prince walks in and the two of you fall instantly in love? What does it feel like to have the eyes of the whole world watching your every move, examining your dress, makeup, and hair? Talk about pressure! Are the grace, poise, and formality the public face of just normal people? What will they do in their family room at 9:00 at night after the kids go to bed?
See, maybe I'm obsessed...
I was thinking, though, that my girls have this dream of being princesses. They put on their princess dresses and sparkle shoes and twirl around our house. I remind them to use their princess manners at the table and help them remember that princesses are always kind and never scream or hit or throw things or kick people. Princesses always sit like ladies when they wear dresses. And they never call people names. I've held up princesses as a high standard.
Kylie has a book called, "Gigi, God's Little Princess" about a little girl who thinks she's a princess and wonders why she hasn't been given any royal jewels. At the end her dad tells her that she's God's princess, that He's the king above all kings, and that girls who belong to Him are all princesses.
So I'm a princess too, right? I'm a girl and I belong to God.
But why is it that I have this desire to be the one in the gorgeous dress on a perfect day in a lavish celebration of the love the prince has for me?
As I fixed the toilet paper roll that Julia messed up this morning, I thought, I bet Kate Middleton (I just realized I have no idea what her last name is now...) never have to do this again - unless she wants to (of course she may never have had to do such things in the first place). As I vacuumed the over-used, VERY ugly carpet on my front porch, I thought, a princess would never even walk on this carpet. When I looked in the mirror at my stained, over sized t-shirt and faded yoga pants, no makeup and frizzy hair, I thought, a princess probably looks better than this just rolling out of bed in the morning.
I don't feel like a princess. At all. My life looks more like Cinderella's before the handsome prince.
So does God really intend for us to be His little princesses? Well, I'm pretty sure the Bible doesn't say anything about princesses at all. But...
The New Living Translation of Ephesians 1:5 says, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." God, the most magnificent king of the entire universe, decided long before the world was created that He wanted me as His child. It brought Him joy to go to terrible lengths to pay the penalty of my sin so I could be with Him forever. If I'm the daughter of a king, I'm a princess, right?
God's plan for His daughters (and sons..) here on earth; however, is not to live pampered, glamorous lives of ease and self-gratification. Philippians 2:5-8 says "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross."
He is our example of royalty. He is the One we are to imitate.
I have to say, from an earthly perspective, the English royalty version of being a princess looks alot better than Jesus' version.
But look at the eternal perspective.
Keep reading Philippians 2: 9-11. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." For all of eternity everything that has ever been created will be busy doing one thing: WORSHIPPING the God who became man and lived a perfect life of giving until exhaustion and sleeping on the ground and doing jobs no one else cared to do. In eternity, we will gain a true understanding of what it means to be royalty in God's eyes.
Will I wait patiently for my King to reveal his eternal perspective to me? Or will I waste my life envying what looks better now?
I've been watching video and examining pictures of the future king of England marrying his bride all day. Poor Caleb got no breakfast because I was too busy watching them say, "I do."
Sorry, honey!
I'm just fascinated by the whole thing. First of all, I'm a girl, so I'm pretty much fascinated by any wedding. But I can't stop wondering, how do you actually meet a prince and get to be a princes??? Do you plot, plan, and train your whole life in a carefully orchestrated dance intended to put you in the right place at the right time? Or are you just hanging out with friends one day when the prince walks in and the two of you fall instantly in love? What does it feel like to have the eyes of the whole world watching your every move, examining your dress, makeup, and hair? Talk about pressure! Are the grace, poise, and formality the public face of just normal people? What will they do in their family room at 9:00 at night after the kids go to bed?
See, maybe I'm obsessed...
I was thinking, though, that my girls have this dream of being princesses. They put on their princess dresses and sparkle shoes and twirl around our house. I remind them to use their princess manners at the table and help them remember that princesses are always kind and never scream or hit or throw things or kick people. Princesses always sit like ladies when they wear dresses. And they never call people names. I've held up princesses as a high standard.
Kylie has a book called, "Gigi, God's Little Princess" about a little girl who thinks she's a princess and wonders why she hasn't been given any royal jewels. At the end her dad tells her that she's God's princess, that He's the king above all kings, and that girls who belong to Him are all princesses.
So I'm a princess too, right? I'm a girl and I belong to God.
But why is it that I have this desire to be the one in the gorgeous dress on a perfect day in a lavish celebration of the love the prince has for me?
As I fixed the toilet paper roll that Julia messed up this morning, I thought, I bet Kate Middleton (I just realized I have no idea what her last name is now...) never have to do this again - unless she wants to (of course she may never have had to do such things in the first place). As I vacuumed the over-used, VERY ugly carpet on my front porch, I thought, a princess would never even walk on this carpet. When I looked in the mirror at my stained, over sized t-shirt and faded yoga pants, no makeup and frizzy hair, I thought, a princess probably looks better than this just rolling out of bed in the morning.
I don't feel like a princess. At all. My life looks more like Cinderella's before the handsome prince.
So does God really intend for us to be His little princesses? Well, I'm pretty sure the Bible doesn't say anything about princesses at all. But...
The New Living Translation of Ephesians 1:5 says, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." God, the most magnificent king of the entire universe, decided long before the world was created that He wanted me as His child. It brought Him joy to go to terrible lengths to pay the penalty of my sin so I could be with Him forever. If I'm the daughter of a king, I'm a princess, right?
God's plan for His daughters (and sons..) here on earth; however, is not to live pampered, glamorous lives of ease and self-gratification. Philippians 2:5-8 says "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross."
He is our example of royalty. He is the One we are to imitate.
I have to say, from an earthly perspective, the English royalty version of being a princess looks alot better than Jesus' version.
But look at the eternal perspective.
Keep reading Philippians 2: 9-11. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." For all of eternity everything that has ever been created will be busy doing one thing: WORSHIPPING the God who became man and lived a perfect life of giving until exhaustion and sleeping on the ground and doing jobs no one else cared to do. In eternity, we will gain a true understanding of what it means to be royalty in God's eyes.
Will I wait patiently for my King to reveal his eternal perspective to me? Or will I waste my life envying what looks better now?
1 comment:
Glad to have found your blog! It's neat to get a sneak peek into the heart of another Mamma just doing her best trying to live each day for Jesus and share His teachings with her family and friends! Keep bloggin!!!
Post a Comment