The royal lifestyle & why I tremble at the thought of Him.

Everyone at some point has been fascinated with royalty, fairy tales, or Kate Middleton. Young women, in particular are taken by the glitz and glamour of royalty. Regardless of age though, royals often achieve timeless celebrity status - the world watches their every step, outfit and deed. When I talk to people about royals, most have one of two responses, either "I wish that was me," or "that would suck to have all that attention." Others are a bit more realistic and simply say there is no point to care since that will never be me. But, I beg to differ.

Because I am royalty.

A year ago, I blogged about what it means to be a heiress of God. Being a heiress of God also makes me a princess, the daughter of the King of all Kings.

But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King."- Matthew 5:34-35

I read these words the other day during my daily Bible study and they gave me shivers. Short of Napoleon and other early emperors, today royalty only extends to a small part of the world - for example, Queen Elizabeth has Great Britain and it's various territories. But, my King's reign extends beyond even planet Earth - it's merely his footstool. My King's reign has stayed true and powerful for thousands of years, in fact it's been around since creation. He has discrestion over all living things and He is all knowing.

But despite his riches and power, the thing that makes my King unique is that His kingdom is founded on grace. Over thousands of years, He has accepted all sorts of people into His court - murderers, beggers, and everyone in between. He welcomes everyone into His kingdom graciously - offering redemption, a clean slate, and the promises of riches and eternal life beyond human comprehension. And one day, if I prove myself here on Earth, I will inherit all of this. Measly, ordinary me, welcomed into the most esteemed castle of all for all of eternity.

Coming to Him as to a living steon, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stone, are being build up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also coontaine din the Scriptures: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who belives on Him will by no means be put to shame.' Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious..... You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obrained mercy but now have obtained mercy. - Matthew 2:4-10

But, as we know, being a public figure, especially royalty, requires a certain standard of living and transperancy. Kate Middleton can't go to the grocery store or even vacation on a private island without escaping the watching eyes and papparazzi. A royal's life is not his/her own. I highly doubt Prince William ever had the option to become anything other than future King of England. From the day he was born, he was groomed to lead a life worthy of a monarch - years and years of instruction and molding into centuries of traditions and expectations. Every day his life is planned to the minute - who he is going to speak to, what he will say and how he can benefit his country.

I think that also describes the life of a Christian. The Bible is our handbook and the Holy Spirit is our helpful sidekick, dictating all the details of Christian protocol and providing guidance on what everyday of our life should look like. As God's royal children, we don't have the freedom to pursue earthly pleasure and personal whims, instead God dictates our life stories.

We also have to realize that we live a very public life - people surrounding us are constantly watching our actions, words and behaviors. It may not be papparazzi, but if you tell your coworkers you're a Christian and suddenly you utter a curse word, no matter how slight, people will sit up and notice. Therefore, we have to contstantly stay on guard, watching what we say, wear and do.

Because our royalty is not based on anything material or Earthly, our royal standards actually even higher than all the current monarchs you read about in magazines and textbooks. You see, our kingdom is founded on sacrifice - grace extended by the King, who sent his own son to die a painful death so that any commoner could become a royal. That brings in humility and gratefulness. It doesn't mean material riches - jewels, fancy cars and castles. Instead it means spiritual riches - fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22).

Quite often, we take that for granted. We  get used to the blessings - our comfortable homes, cars, friends, fancy dinners, shopping sprees, healthy children and loving spouses. If you live in the U.S. or even the majority of the developed world, even in poverty, you are more rich than most third world countries combined - we are that blessed! But, with comfort often comes laziness. We slip up here and there and hope people don't notice. Eventually people stop noticing, because it becomes the new standard of living - this blatant disregard of the Christian's royal lifestyle.

As I was thinking on this topic, I asked myself a terrifying question.

Why don't I tremble at the thought of my God?

I should be trembling from fear, gratefulness, need and humility. I am afraid of the consequences of my disregard of God's instructions for my life. I am grateful that He shows patience and mercy, even though I often mess up and come close to giving up. I need Him - more than air, water, food or even life itself. I am humbled by how astounding and powerful He is - of the depth of His love for me, His sacrifice and His wisdom.

There have been very few moments in my life where I've felt the depth of this question - it's a moment that words can't describe, where I could literally feel a fraction of His presence and all I wanted to do was kneel with my head to the ground and weep. A moment where I couldn't breathe or think, I could just feel.

After experiencing that even once, how can I go on with my life as normal? Why do I? This question terrifies me, prompting me to remember that I'm not just an ordinary person - I am God's child - a calling above all royals, celebrities and presidents.

What do you think? Are you living a life worthy of the highest royal?

Do you tremble at the thought of Him?