The Royal Wedding has come and gone, and I have to admit: I missed it. I know of people who took off work to watch it live, and I’m sure it was carried off well. I vaguely remember watching Charles and Diana’s wedding, and what an enormous event it was for the Brits. I imagine this latest wedding – while no doubt a bit more subdued, given the economy – was every bit as much of a national statement, a regal show intended for the world.
The show reminded me of the movie The King’s Speech, which was the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It’s based on the true story of Prince Albert’s improbable rise to become King George VI.
Since Albert was the second son of King George the Fifth, Prince Albert’s brother Edward became king when their father died in 1936. But Edward was caught between duty to his country and “following his heart,” as someone on “the Bachelor” might put it. In similarly “reality show” fashion, Edward had followed his heart into an affair with a soon-to-be twice-divorced American socialite, and he wanted to make it public by marrying her as soon as the ink was dry on her divorce papers. His father’s death complicated this plan. Such a wedding was hardly a great PR move for a head of state, and strong leadership at that juncture was particularly necessary, as war with Hitler’s Germany loomed on the horizon. Edward was not up to it. He abdicated the throne to marry the socialite – a move that likely seemed romantic to her, but which left an entire nation in the lurch.
This left Albert as the next in line to the throne. One problem: Albert stuttered, and this was the age of radio. In America, President Roosevelt had become famous for his “fireside chats.” Albert’s father had also given regular radio addresses, and – with the political chaos of going through two kings in three years – the people of the United Kingdom needed a strong leader, a leader to reassure them that everything was under control. As he wrestled with self-doubts and political turmoil (Ireland seceded from the Commonwealth on the day of his coronation, for example), Albert knew one thing beyond all doubt: when he addressed the nation as its new King, he could not stutter.
With that heroic story in my mind, I wonder what it’s like for Kate Middleton to marry into the Royal Family. After all, though there is a prince and a princess, the reality is that this is not a fairy tale. She is becoming public property. Consider all that’s involved: Kate’s engagement ring once belonged to Princess Diana – an international icon she’s already being compared to. Before she could get married, Queen Elizabeth II (King George VI’s daughter) had to officially and publicly declare Kate “worthy” to marry Prince William. She’s signing up for a lifetime of public scrutiny, of cameras and paparazzi, of duty to nation that necessarily will require a lifestyle of setting aside many of her personal feelings and desires. Kate no doubt knows all this, but considers the benefits of marrying her prince to be worth the cost.
In the movie, Albert – King George VI – worked with an unorthodox therapist who understood that Albert didn’t really believe he was capable of being the King his nation needed, which only made his stuttering worse. Like his brother – and Kate Middleton – he was caught between his desire for a relatively safe life in the relative obscurity of his brother’s shadow and the duty of a nation that needed him to be bigger and better than he was.
I don’t know about you, but I fight a similar battle when it comes to my Christian life. This world desperately needs to see Jesus. It needs to see the Savior King who loved the unlovable, who was patient with his followers even when they abandoned Him to His betrayers and didn’t get what He was saying, even after three years of following Him. The decision to be a part of His Church necessarily means setting aside many of our personal desires, agendas, and feelings. The people around us need us to be more than we are. This is what God has called us to be.
Question 1: Did you feel adequately prepared for the fact that your new found faith in Jesus might bring public scrutiny? From where have you received the most opposition in your faith journey?
Question 2: What changes to the “course of your life” have been made since you accepted Christ? What sacrifices have hurt the most?
Question 3: If a friend told you today that they were considering following Jesus what words of advice, warning, or encouragement would you give them?
Question 4: What desire, agenda, or feeling do you willingly lay aside for the sake of being apart of His Church?
In the opening verse of Ephesians 4, Paul makes this clear:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…
Paul is in prison for following Christ’s call. It’s safe to say he put his duty to his Savior above his own personal goals and agenda, don’t you think? So when he urges the Ephesians – and us – to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,” he’s got the authority to tell us to do the same. And as just the second “do this” command in his letter, it’s obviously significant.
This is a very hard command for me. Quite honestly, I don’t think I’ve got what it takes. Like Prince Albert, Moses, King Saul, and many others, I’d just as soon hide in the shadows, in anonymity and safety, away from the scrutiny of unbelievers who are watching me to see if they can catch a glimpse of Jesus. They desperately need to see Jesus in you and me – but will they? They need us to be more than we are. They need us to walk in a manner that is worthy of this calling. And no, we’re not up to it.
Question 5: Where do people see the influence of Jesus come out most in your life?
But notice that word: “therefore.” It points backward to something, doesn’t it? In place of “therefore,” you could substitute, “because of _______, walk in manner worthy…” Because of all God has done for us and in us – think back to what we’ve read in chapters 1 and 2 – He has made us able to be more than we are. Paul is not commanding us to work hard and become what we are not. He is commanding us to live out what the God of the Universe has made us to be.
Question 6: Think hard about this one. How is your “because of _____________, walk in a manner worthy of…” statement finished?
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