One of the common refrains in my life is a reminder that I am the Daughter of a King. My point of reference was when I visited Buckingham Palace and saw the flag indicating that the Queen was in residence. Not having been raised in a monarchy, I don’t have the same frame of reference as Englanders do when we call Christ our King. In the shadows of Buckingham Palace though, I imagined what it would be like if the Queen stepped off her throne and bore the punishment of a common criminal. The magnitude of this substitution weighed heavy upon me, and ever since I’ve been in greater awe of the sacrifice of Creation’s King.
Sometimes, God uses these points of reference to teach us other truths about Him. For me, the analogy of the King took on a whole new meeting in light of Ephesians 1:3-14. The passage isn’t the easiest to parse, but what caught my attention were two words “predestined” and “inheritance.” Rather than getting caught up in the predestined vs. free will debate, I took these words in light of a monarchy. A princess doesn’t choose to be born into the royal family, she just is. That is her destiny. Her rightful place is as the King’s kid. In the same way, God choose to create a royal heritage. Some abdicate their rightful position, but it is His desire that we wouldn’t. And as the King’s children, we have a guaranteed inheritance, a bestowment of the Father’s riches. Sunday school graduates may be so used to this terminology that they breeze right through it, but think about it – we are to be given Kingly riches, the best of the best, because we are part of His family. How majestic His mercy! How wonderful His love!