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The Royal Family
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Royal babies are always an attraction. In Britain where the monarchy has lasted through centuries the children of the reigning king or queen are heralded with joy. They betoken the continuity of the monarchy. They stand for something greater than themselves: they have great privileges and tremendous responsibilities. They will be free from the struggles of life which come to lesser mortals -- no worries about homes and income: but they will hardly ever have a private moment, they can never walk the streets alone or lie on the beach in the sun wherever and whenever they wish. Perhaps we have thought that there is something unfair about the wealth and honour into which royal babies are born without any choice of their own and without either deserving their lot or working for it. I think we have a point there, but there is nothing one can do about it; in greater or lesser degree it is true of every baby born into every home. You and I cannot change our position in society, the colour of our skin or our nationality. They were our inheritance. It is interesting. therefore to learn about a royal family whose babies are all there by choice! No doubt it sounds impossible: but it is perfectly true. What is more ANYBODY who really wants to can be in that royal family. More wonderful still is the fact that the family is the greatest one on earth. Let us look at this step by step. It is no fairy tale or wild fancy of the mind: it is the real and sober truth. The Royal Head of this Royal Family is God. You will remember from an earlier letter that God is King of the Universe. Everything belongs to Him: He is the Creator of heaven and earth: by Him everything continues to exist. He is the life which is in everything that lives: He is the power found in the whirling planets, the mighty seas, the flight of the birds, the hum of insects, the growing seeds buried in the good earth.
Let us get our bearings right. If you have ever seen an earthly king passing through the streets crowded with admiring subjects, riding in a gilded coach with horsemen in scarlet uniforms and long straight columns of soldiers presenting arms -- if you have seen that and have been taken into an ecstacy of wonder, admiration and, perhaps, a desire to share it, then you might think that the kingship of God is a less real thing, true but less important in everyday life. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are dependent upon God:
We are never dependent upon any man to that extent. Having understood that much we now ask the question: Are there any Royal Babies in God's Royal Family? It seems a strange question to ask: it is marvelous to learn the answer. We all know One of the royal children. Jesus Christ was the Son of the Great King. People did not recognize it and He was born in the stable because there was no room for Him in the inn. Make no mistake. He was a royal child. The angels knew the truth about Him. On the night when He was born in Bethlehem great things were said about Him:
The Son of God! The King of Israel! If you want to test His credentials you can do so. Read His life and notice the wonderful powers which lie in His Hands. He can make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dead to live: He can feed 5000 people from the merest fragments of food: He can speak to the raging sea and in a moment it is quiet: He can heal the sick by a word over a distance. These are the words of a King. No other man has had these great powers in his hand. Of course men looked for the wrong things. They expected the outward show of earthly kings -- a sumptuous palace, a retinue of servants, splendid feasts and royal occasions, the glitter of gold and the colours of jewels. Jesus had none of these. But He had the marks of His Father, the King of heaven and earth; love, righteousness, holiness, truth, mercy, compassion, forgivingness. Not outward things but inward realities. Not mere appearance which wears away, but the royal character which endures. That is true kingship. It was a kingship which God gladly acclaimed. "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." Moreover it is the kingship which will finally be manifest on earth in royal splendour when Jesus is enthroned in Jerusalem the city of David, when all nations are subject unto Him and the kingdom of God is fully established on the earth:
Christ will return to earth and reign as king over all the nations. All power has been given Him in heaven and in earth. When He reigns in Jerusalem all the earth will be His kingdom. But are there any other royal children? There are none born as Jesus was. But there are others adopted into the royal family at God's invitation. They are born of royal seed and become royal children. They are true and royal heirs of the King of heaven and earth. They are God's children. All who believe the royal charter of things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and are baptised into the royal name of Christ, become royal heirs:
This is the promise to those who are God's children -- an eternal inheritance in God's kingdom on earth with Jesus when He returns. Does not Jesus say in one of His wonderful parables: "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"? [Matthew 25:34]. What a marvellous hope! But don't be deceived: if we want to be princes with Jesus in His kingdom, if we truly want to be royaI children, then we must live the royal life. Not a life of outward show and vain pomp, but as
Christ must be King in our hearts and His royal law the Sermon on the Mount the rule of our lives. Now read that law for yourself. Notice how it rings with a majestic beauty which can be found in no other law. Read Matthew chapters 5 to 7.
Questions on Letter 15 (answers) 1 . Where will Jesus be enthroned as king? 2. How far will his kingdom extend? 3. Who else will reign with him? 4. What is the promise to those who are God's children? 5. What does it mean to live the "royal life"?
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