Royal babies are always an attraction. In Britain where the monarchy has lasted through centuries the children of the reigning king or queen are heralded with joy. They betoken the continuity of the monarchy. They stand for something greater than themselves, they have great privileges and tremendous responsibilities. They will be free from the struggles of life which come to lesser mortals: no worries about homes and incomes, but they will scarcely ever have a private moment, they can never walk the streets alone or lie on a beach in the sun when and where they wish.
Perhaps we have thought that there is something unfair about the wealth and honor into which royal babies are born without any choice of their own and without either deserving their lot or working for it. I think we have a point there, but there is nothing one can do about it; in greater or lesser degree it is true of every baby born into every home. You and I cannot change our position in society, the color of our skin or our nationality. They were our inheritance.
It is interesting, therefore, to learn about a royal family whose babies are all there by choice! No doubt it sounds impossible, but it is perfectly true. What is more, Anybody who really wants to can be in that royal family. More wonderful still is the fact that the family is the greatest one on earth. Let us look at this step by step. It is no fairy tale or wild fancy of the mind, it is the real and sober truth. The royal Head of this royal family is God. You will remember from an earlier letter that God is King of the universe. Everything belongs to Him, He is the Creator of heaven and earth, by Him everything continues to exist. He is the life which is in everything that lives, He is the power found in the whirling planets, the mighty seas, the flight of the birds, the hum of insects, the growing seeds buried in the good earth.
“The Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Psalms 95:3).
“Sing praises to God, sing praises . . . For God is the King of all the earth: Sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness” (Psalm 47:6-8).
” . . praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” (Daniel 4:37).
Let us get our bearings right. If you have ever seen an earthly king passing through the streets, surrounded with admiring subjects. riding in a gilded coach with horsemen in scarlet uniform and long straight columns of soldiers presenting arms___ if you have seen that, and have been exalted into an ecstasy of wonder, admiration, and, perhaps a desire to share it, then you might think that the kingship of God is a less real thing, true but less important in everyday life. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are dependent upon God.
” . . . Seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). We are never dependent upon any man to that extent.
Having understood that much, we now ask the question: Are there any royal babies in God’s royal family? It seems a strange question to ask, it is marvelous to learn the answer. We all know One of the royal children. Jesus Christ was the Son of the Great King. People did not recognize it, and He was born in a stable because there was no room for Him in the inn. Make no mistake, He was a royal child. The angels knew the truth about Him. On the night when He was born in Bethlehem, great things were said about Him!
. . . I bring you good tidings of great joy, Which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10,11).
The Son of God! The King of Israel! If you want to test His credentials you can do so. Read his life and notice the wonderful powers that lay in His hands: He could make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dead to live. He could feed 5,000 people from the merest fragments of food; He could speak to the raging sea and in a moment it was quiet; He could heal the sick at a distance by a word. These are the new works of a King. No other man has had these great powers in his hand.
Of course men looked for the wrong things. They expected the outward show of earthly kings: A sumptious palace, a retinue of servants, splendid feasts and royal occasions; the glitter of gold and the colors of jewels. Jesus had none of these. Bat He had the marks of His Father, the King of heaven and earth: love, righteousness, holiness, truth, mercy, compassion, forgiveness. Not outward things, but inward realities. Not mere appearance which wears away, but the royal character which endures. That is true kingship. It was a kingship which God gladly acclaimed. “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.” Moreover it is the kingship which will finally be manifest on earth in royal splendor when Jesus is enthroned in Jerusalem, the city of David, when all nations are subject unto Him and the kingdom of God is fully established on the earth.
. . The government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, to order it, and to establish it . . . from henceforth even forever . . ” (Isaiah 9:6,7).
Christ will return to earth and reign as King over all the nations. All power has been given Him in heaven and in earth. When He reigns in Jerusalem all the earth will be His kingdom. But are there any other royal children? There are none born as Jesus was. But there are others adopted into the royal family at God’s invitation. They are born of royal seed and become royal children. They are true and royal heirs of the King of heaven and earth. They are God’s children. All who believe the royal charter of things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Christ, become royal heirs.
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit (are heirs) the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
. . Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” (James 2 :5 ) .
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy . . . for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by they blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9,10).
This is the promise to those who are God’s children: an eternal inheritance in God’s kingdom on earth with Jesus when He returns. Does not Jesus say in one of His wonderful parables:
. . . Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?” (Matthew 25:34).
What a marvelous hope! But don’t be deceived: if we wish to be princes with Jesus in His kingdom, if we truly want to be royal children, then we must live the royal life. Not a life of outward show and vain pomp, but as
” . . . a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1st Peter 2:9).
Christ must be King in our hearts, and His royal law, the Sermon on the Mount, the rule of our lives.
Read Matthew chapters 5 to 7. Notice how they ring with a majestic beauty which can he found in no other law.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One