Hope

The Death of a King

It was a moment I’ll never forget. I had traveled to England for work and decided to stay a few extra days to be a tourist. For someone who had previously hated traveling, this was a big adventure. On my own, out of the country, with absolutely no plan.

As I strolled the streets of London, I was in awe of the city. At that time, I had never experienced what it was like to be in a place where you could walk for miles and see nothing but activity. I was alone, yet surrounded by people. I was one of the masses enjoying the mysteries of modern life.

And then I came to the castle. Buckingham Palace to be exact. The flag was up – the sign that the Queen was in residence. Unlike most tourists, I had decided not to take the tour and to this day, I have no clue what the palace looks like on the inside. But it didn’t matter. I was dumbfounded. And for a girl who’s not easily impressed, this was a moment of magic.

As I stared the flag, it hit me. This was their queen. And the palpable air of respect permeated my surroundings. Being raised in America, I’m used to public officials being elected. The Queen hadn’t been elected; she was born into her position. I could no sooner ascend to her place than I could learn to fly. No desire, no volition, no action on my part could make us equal. She was the Queen; I was not.

Maybe it was the majesty of the moment, but it was only then that I realized the significance of saying that Christ, our King, had died for us. If I were an Englander, I would not be able to imagine a circumstance in which the Queen would choose to give her life for mine. But this is what the Heavenly King did. He gave up His birthright of royalty, to pay my penalty. What an Earthly queen could never be compelled to do, our Heavenly King did willingly on our behalf.

I still think I’m far from grasping the significance of that act. I think people who are familiar with a heritage of royalty probably have a better appreciation for it. But as I think back, I’m grateful for the night spent at the steps of the Queen. It helped prepare me for an eternity at the King’s feet.

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Purpose

A Simple Life of Worship

A Simple Life of Worship

It’s not easy to live simply. It’s much easier to get wrapped up in the cult of consumerism that pervades our American culture. I attribute this to the fact that most of us live in excess. If you’re reading this in all likelihood your basic needs are met and you probably have several things in your closet that you’ve forgotten are even there. We are used to having more than we need. Living simply takes practice if only becomes so much of our social interactions are built upon giving and receiving. Everywhere we go we get stuff – whether its groceries, gas, or promotional trinkets for the hometown football team.

However, living simply is a great remedy for many of the supposed problems we face. When you don’t have a lot of stuff, you don’t worry about it breaking. Maintenance concerns cease to exist and you don’t have to buy all the things necessary to care for what you already have. Reducing how much stuff you accumulate not only reduces your concerns, but it puts fewer constraints on relationship, it helps keep work and money in the proper perspective and it generally makes contentedness easier to achieve.

Living simply, however, is about more than just possessing fewer things. In my view, it is about enjoying the ordinariness of life, finding beauty in the commonplace, laughing often and recognizing that the cares of this world are temporal. When one is not distracted by the worries of Earth, it’s easier to keep our eyes on our Savior – the One who should be the object of our time, attention and worship, anyway. Worship, in its essence, is acclaiming that which already exists – namely that God is God and we’re not. There’s nothing more simple than that.

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