Responsibility and Duty

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Ephesians 1:4-6

235 years ago those living in the New World declared their independence from England, yet today we are fascinated with the British royal family. Recent news stories about Princes William and Harry got me thinking. William and Harry have been born into a life of privilege and with privilege come responsibility and duty. All of their lives there have been expectations about how they are to behave and the things they are to do in service to God and country. These fine, young men have stepped up to the task and no doubt their grandmother Queen Elizabeth and their father are very proud of them.

Today’s passage reminds us that we too are members of a royal family - the Divine Royal family of God. We have been adopted into a life of privilege and with that privilege comes responsibility and duty. I think sometimes because we are adopted we may not understand that there are expectations concerning how we should behave and what we should be doing.

We are expected to love the Lord with every fiber of our being and we are to serve Him by serving and loving others. Just as William and Harry represent the Queen as they serve in the military and travel the world - so we represent The King as we go about our daily lives. Do our lives reflect that? Are we caring for those in our spheres of influence in the same way Jesus would, are we serving our brothers and sisters as we are called to do?

I know many of you reading this understand the responsibility and duty that comes with being a child of the King and that in many ways I am “preaching to the choir” but sometimes I think the choir can reach people in a way no one else can. So if you are serving - if you are doing your best to fulfill your royal responsibilities and you know others who aren’t - share with them the joy and blessing you gain from what you do. For those of you who may not be serving - pray that you will gain insight into the gifts you have been given and ask for direction concerning what you should do, talk to those you know who are serving for help.

We have all been adopted into a life of royal privilege may we well fulfill our responsibilities and duties. Let’s make the King proud.

A prayer
Father – Thank you for making us a part of Your royal family. Help us to understand the responsibility and duty that come with that privilege. Make clear the gifts for serving You have given us and make our hearts burn with a need to serve. Your Son showed us the way, may we walk in it by Your power. In the name of Jesus, Amen.