Royalty

I have seen this parallel for some time and planned to write about it. Today seems a good day to do that.

Queen Elizabeth II died yesterday. She was the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom at 70 years 214 days, reigning from 6 February 1952 to 8 September 2022.

On the occasion of her twenty-first birthday in a 1947 speech from South Africa she proclaimed:

I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

Her Majesty The Queen

During World War II as a member of the royal family and the daughter of the King, she served as a Red Cross ambulance driver and a mechanic.

Her sons and grandsons have served in the military. As members of royalty, they did not hide behind that privilege or expect the people to serve them. The Royal Family is also involved in many charitable organizations serving the homeless, orphans, those with HIV/AIDS, and leprosy to name a few. They have seen their privilege as having a duty to and for those who are their “subjects.”

Our Royal Family

We, as children of the King of kings, are a type of royal family. We have a duty to our fellow man to live according to the rules of His kingdom. In the Old Testament/Torah and in the New Testament we are told to care for those less fortunate: the widows, orphans, the homeless, the poor, sick, naked, and strangers. We are commanded to forgive and pray for those who hate and hurt us.

…but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  

Matthew 20:26b-28 WEB

Princess Elizabeth could have hidden in a safe place during World War II, but she chose to fulfill her duty. She changed her fancy frocks for khakis and learned to be a mechanic and drive an ambulance—similar to Christ leaving His glory in Heaven, becoming a human to suffer and die for our sins.

I recognize that the British Royal Family has had its share of foibles. We all have. The point of this short post is neither to glorify nor denigrate the British Royal Family. It is to point to them as an earthly, tangible example of how we in Yehovah’s Royal Family should live out our lives responsibly in service and duty to others and to our Heavenly Father as Christ did.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus Christ

RIP Queen Elizabeth II