Of the Sons and Daughters of the King

I was sitting in the waiting room of a lab this morning next to a woman who was passing the time by talking on her cell phone. She wasn’t talking overly loudly, but loud enough that I (and a few other people who were waiting) could hear what she was saying. She and the person on the other end of the conversation were obviously talking about a third person (something I don’t necessarily advocate, by the way) and the fact that this third person, a woman, just did not understand how valuable the Bible was to her and that the book of Ephesians would be helpful for her to read. My ears pricked up at this point. Then she went on to say that this woman just didn’t fully understand who she was in Christ.

The arrow was shot and stuck straight into my heart.

And I thought, “Do I fully understand, I mean really understand, to the point of how it affects not only my thinking but also my day to day living, the full scope of who I am, right now, in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Do we know that we are the “beloved of the Lord,” (2 Thessalonians 2:13b) that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”? (Romans 8:37) Do we comprehend that Jesus calls us “friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”? (John 15:15b)

Do we remember that we are the bride of Christ, and that we can say with boldness and confidence, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”? (Isaiah 61:10)

And because we are espoused to the King of kings, we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”. (1 Peter 2:9)

We, the royal sons and daughters of Christ, have been called out of the world, out of darkness and into His light, the truth. So do we live like royalty, or have we become accustomed to and comfortable with living at the level of the world’s filthiness?

It’s easy to forget who we really are in Christ when we are surrounded by the world and its filth and when there are so many people who are ready, willing and even eager to tell us otherwise. And slowly but surely that filth, if we allow it, infiltrates our lives and minds and even hearts. As we live, so shall we think and believe.

But through His Word God says to us “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial (satan)? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

These can be hard verses to live by in this world in which we now live, but we must interpret scripture through the Holy Spirit, as the beloved, the bride, the heavenly royalty to which we’ve been called and indeed are, rather than interpreting scripture through our flesh or through a worldly or even cultural understanding.

That is why we need to not just read God’s Word, but let it be absorbed into our minds and owned within our hearts so they may be used for their God-given intended purpose: to love one another and to glorify Christ and to make Him known.

When the woman had finished her conversation and sat reading her book, I almost turned to thank her and let her know that God had used her in my life that morning, but I didn’t, and soon she was called to the back. I’m glad I was quiet, though, because her reward will be greater in heaven, reward for simply trusting the Lord and living her life in Him.

In Jesus' love,
Dorci