We Are Royalty
by Tracy Gordon
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into this wonderful light.” –1 Peter 2:9
All of my life, I have loved everything water…a pool, the beach, the lake, the river. When I was little, my dear grandfather taught me how to swim and I would swim for hours, every day of the summer. He called me his ‘water princess’ and I felt like the pool was my palace. Recently, this memory of being a pretend princess came to mind when we sang the song, “All Hail King Jesus” at church. The words of the chorus, “All hail King Jesus / All hail the Lord of Heaven and earth / All hail King Jesus / All hail the Savior of the world,” moved me profoundly and led me to the verse 1 Peter 2:9. It is here Peter writes, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into this wonderful light.” Wow…no pretending…we really are royal!
We are part of God’s royal priesthood; princes and princesses in our Father’s eyes because we are sons and daughters of the King of Kings, and joint heirs to the kingdom of Heaven with the Prince of Peace. Our Prince was sent to rescue us from the snares of sin and bring us into a loving kingdom where we can live “happily ever after.” We are royalty through our relationship with Jesus and have taken our rightful place before God. We have all the privileges of being sons and daughters of the Most High King, but we must adhere to the behavior and character of He who sits on the throne, and we must love and obey Him in His laws, commandments, and will. To whom much is given, much is expected. Are we worthy of wearing the robes of righteousness He has given us?
You don’t become worthy when you hit your spiritual stride. You’re worthy because God chose you. You don’t need a crown to be called chosen. He already placed identity and inheritance on your life the moment you said “yes” to Him. You might not feel like someone set apart or worthy, but the transformation doesn’t happen before the calling, it happens because of the calling. Through God, you will learn, become brave, become bold, and become who He made you to be. God’s calling doesn’t depend on how impressive you are, but on who He is; so we need to ask Him to help us walk in the truth—that we are chosen, worthy, and made for more. We must forget our past and embrace our new identity as royalty. Past mistakes and regrets will not hinder us anymore, neither will our shame, guilt, and “what if’s.” We have only one way to look now, straight into our King’s eyes of love. Reflected there, we will see our identity—an identity of being loved, chosen, wanted, healed, and whole. What an honor it is to be a representative of God’s kingdom here on Earth, to confidently go before our Father’s throne with our prayers and supplications. Let every knee come bow before the King of Kings!
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we are heirs of Your Heavenly Kingdom. Teach us and strengthen us that we might soar on eagle’s wings and do Your will always. Help us to do the things that bring you great glory so that You can be well pleased with us. As we step into our royal duties, may we be so proud of our amazing heritage. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.