"Wouldn't it be great if we were all princesses? Wear a crown, have a kingdom, be royalty, have everything you could ever want... life would be so awesome! What if I told you we are princesses? Each & everyone of us that are saved by Jesus Christ are biblically princesses!
Just take a minute and think of the 'things' that make the life of a princess awesome?
List them off in your head one by one from the awesome dress to a kingdom, etc.
Now if we are really princesses, as royalty... where are those 'things' in our lives? Where's ours?
It would be easy for me to explain how we have all these things in Christ, waiting for us in Heaven, & so we should be happy everyday living in light of those truths, and we should... BUT if our hope & reason we should be happy lie within the 'things' we get from God rather than God Himself, we're not much different from the world are we?
Something should be said for the crowns WE have! They are genuine in representing our position in that everything a true princess' crown represents we inherit also: pedigree, inheritance, favor, blessing, royalty, etc. Make no mistake, we are truly princesses! But OUR crowns' significance exceeds the perks- they represent more than what we have, rather they represent WHOSE we are.
I want to explain how we can have JOY everyday because of the legacy & character of the ONE who gave us our crowns- God-& how we can live life in light of HIM, as His princesses, regardless of what our everyday reality looks like.
It would be easy for me to explain how we have all these things in Christ, waiting for us in Heaven, & so we should be happy everyday living in light of those truths, and we should... BUT if our hope & reason we should be happy lie within the 'things' we get from God rather than God Himself, we're not much different from the world are we?
Something should be said for the crowns WE have! They are genuine in representing our position in that everything a true princess' crown represents we inherit also: pedigree, inheritance, favor, blessing, royalty, etc. Make no mistake, we are truly princesses! But OUR crowns' significance exceeds the perks- they represent more than what we have, rather they represent WHOSE we are.
I want to explain how we can have JOY everyday because of the legacy & character of the ONE who gave us our crowns- God-& how we can live life in light of HIM, as His princesses, regardless of what our everyday reality looks like.
Why do we get to be princesses? We get our crowns because of WHO God is- because of GRACE! Grace is a gift, and it's also a character trait- but it can only truly describe ONE being: God. Grace originated from God, He came up with the idea, and grace is the reason for our crowns. Because of God's grace, we who are awful sinners, get to be royalty in the kingdom of God! Is that not profound!? But it does not end there!
JOY & GRACE (xara & xaris) are very similar as Greek terms. In fact, when I did a word study to find out more about the biblical definition of Joy (xara) I found that its' greek root word & the greek root word for Grace (xaris) were one in the same! Thus, etymology tells us that Joy & grace are sister words because they share the same root word/ meaning/ idea, which basically means you can not have one without the other. But what does that mean for us as far as life application goes? It means:
-WHO God is is the source of our joy!
-Only in HIM alone is our joy derived! Not things, nor circumstances, rather our joy comes from our awareness of God's grace!
-WHO God is is the source of our joy!
-Only in HIM alone is our joy derived! Not things, nor circumstances, rather our joy comes from our awareness of God's grace!
And what better way to make us realize such grace than by giving us such undeserving positions as His own daughters- His princesses! His grace is made manifest in the positions He gives his children in His kingdom- aka our heavenly crowns-and it is when we realize the gift of His grace, what our crowns represent, that we have true joy & bring Him the most glory. Its by grace, its by HIM, we have been adopted into the kingdom of God!
God adopted me into His kingdom when I was 16 and my entire life changed! At first glance, many do not perceive all that I have come from: homelessness, poverty, abandonment, physical/sexual/emotional abuse, a learning disability, insecurity. Why? Because God's grace has transformed my life & I am no longer the girl I was when God rescued me from my chains of sin. When God welcomed me into His family as HIS daughter, He placed a crown on my head & sought to use me for His glory. He took me, a prisoner, & turned me into a princess! Though I come from nothing, God gave me a place in His kingdom, a position of royalty- a position so unfitting, yet it is by His grace, it is WHO He is, that He gave me a part in HIS kingdom, it is only by His amazing grace. Before I was a Christian I did not think God could use me, but more so I did not think God would want me. I was convinced that I had done too many things wrong & not come from a good enough background to be of any use to God, but God has taught me and is still teaching me today that that is why He uses me because He is most glorified when His grace is most exemplified! The lame, the blind- their inequities were opportunities for Him to show the world He had the power to make dead legs walk and broken eyes see- to display HIS glory!
And thats what God does- He crowns the pauper, the sinner, the poor, the weak, the broken, the abandoned & He makes them powerful instruments in His Kingdom, giving them a new name-HIS name, a royal inheritance, a legendary pedigree, favor, blessing, but best of all- He transforms them with His grace & there is nothing more satisfying than the Grace of God! Even though I have inequities, weaknesses, short comings- rather than ask 'why?', I remind myself that I have a crown on my head despite all those things because of God's grace which in turn makes every one of those inequities new reasons to rejoice & praise Him! I have joy because of God's grace!
Everyday we face circumstances that tell us we dont measure up- but measure up to what? Wouldn't you say a princess is an ideal standard? But in Christ we've already got our crowns! He crowns the pauper, the screwup, the broken, & we can have joy everyday because our royalty is not based on if we fail or not, have or have not, etc- rather our royalty is based on WHO HE is! Our identity and value is based on what HE says we are & His opinion is the only one that matters for He is the King of Kings, Ruler over everything!
Thus, regardless of the circumstances we face or the trials that challenge us, no matter our background or mistakes we have made, we can have joy because of the grace of God given to us through His son Jesus Christ, made manifest through the crowns He has given us by calling us His daughters, His princesses, for His glory, fame, & renown.
Our story & heritage is truly that of princesses! For though we are but peasants in this world now, God created us for a reason & our prince is coming soon to take us home to our King, & with HIM we will live happily ever after!
For the story ends as so:
Revelation 4: 10(b)-11: "And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, "You are worthy, O Lord our God to receive glory & honor & power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased."
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