If you received Jesus and believe in his name, you are a son or daughter of God! This is amazing! You are a part of a new family! Your Father is the King! Which means that you are royalty! Royalty now and royalty forever, because your adoption into the family cannot be undone. You don’t ever stop being a son or daughter of the King. As Aslan says about Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, “Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). Once you have been adopted into the Royal Family, you are always a part of the Royal Family!
And yet… I don’t know about you… but I don’t always feel all that royal. In fact, I usually feel just like a normal person. Sure, I believe that something has changed inside, but it often seems like it hasn’t worked its way out all that much. I tend to doubt my own claim to royalty. I wonder what real royalty is supposed to feel like. What does it look like? Because it must look better and more confident… more put together… more polished… just plain better than me.
If you can relate to those feelings, then I want to welcome you to the club. It is the club of people who are stuck in the middle. On one hand, we are fully and 100% adopted children of God who are currently true royalty. And yet, on the other hand, we are simulta- neously, still waiting for our identity to be fully realized in our bones. It is the gospel truth, but it hasn’t penetrated the depths of my reality. This can be awkward and difficult at times, but it is the human predicament, at least, for those of us on this side of eternity.
Even the Apostle Paul is a part of this club. In Romans 8:15, he says that the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. But then, just a few verses later in 8:23, he says, we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Which one is it? Are we adopted or not? Or are we stuck in the middle?
We’re stuck in the middle. We are true royalty and yet, that truth hasn’t been fully realized deep within our bones. But this isn’t all bad news. It is quite good. It means that God isn’t finished with me yet. Join me today in inviting the Spirit to let the truth of your true royalty penetrate the depths of your reality.
Josh Rose
Pastor of Adults Ministries