I love Glitter and sequins and diamonds and sapphires and rubies and emeralds! Every week I watch for an event that stands out for me and try to see how I see God in it. It was not hard this week!
A long time ago, I was a very young girl. Most little girls dream of princesses and love to wear sparkles. I was not the typical princess girl but I did like sparkles. In fact the meaning of my name is Sparkling. Most of the time, I enjoyed the sparkles in pictures and in windows and in stories. I don't remember having dresses and shoes with sparkles and frills. I do think that my mother might have enjoyed being able to provide them for me but her care for her family kept her much more to the providing of what was adequate and sensible for herself and for all of us. I remember her telling the story of the school requesting that I be dressed in some frilly underclothes for a special school program. I can't imagine that this would be done today but times and ways were different as to what was accepted then. A row of first grade girls were to have letters pinned to their behinds and at a certain point we were to bend over to display the letters. Personally I don't remember much about this--just the story telling and retelling. I do have a bit of a memory of what the underclothes were like--very modest and a bit ruffley. But the fanciness was lost on me--I couldn't observe how clever it all seemed to be. So, the princess panties were soon outgrown and that was the end of my one chance. As I grew older, I finally was old enough to have a proper sparkly princess dress for another program. But, to have it we had to sew and design it ourselves--Mother and myself together. And again, one day I needed another princess dress--for my wedding and together, we chose to design and make it ourselves--my mother and myself working hard again to make a special dress fitting for a princess and a bride ready to marry her groom. While I am sure that there must have been times of frustration and argument on what the finished look should be, in the end we both were happy and mostly satisfied. Of course, it wasn't professionally done and there were small things we would have liked to have different but it still was a princess dress to me. Today, I would have made sure to add some sparkles and pearls and iridescent beads to my princess dress but back 51 years ago, it wasn't being done. I was my mother's only daughter and she loved me enough to want things as wonderful as possible for me--and herself. She determined to make the memories wonderful. I love her for that. On this weekend to celebrate mothers, together, my husband and I remember our mothers with love in our hearts. They are missed so much. We are longing for the day when Jesus comes so that we each can say once again--I Love You, thank you for being my mother, the Queen of my life! Thank you God for giving me one of the best mothers--ever! I will always be thankful for the mother that was chosen for me!
As a little girl, I thought that to be a princess would be like living in a dream come true--never a worry, plenty of everything, do only what was pleasing. I long have had an interest in learning about how kings and queens live. So this week, I watched with interest some of what was happening on Coronation day. The 200 year old robes definitely looked like a king's robes. And they had been worn by past kings. As a former Kindergarten and Primary Sabbath School teacher, I enjoyed providing things that could help make Bible Stories come to life. I had a chair that used to be in the front of the church that I covered in cloth that seemed to look like "royal throne" and had other things that allowed a child to dress to look like a King or Queen with royal robes and a crown or tiara. I think the kids enjoyed representing David and Solomon and Pharaoh and Esther but the throne and velvet robes this week were gold and purple and costly! Kings David and Solomon were chosen and anointed by God and His representatives prior to their coronation. Charles inherited his right to be King. Will King Charles have the same relationship with God that David and Solomon did? Or will he reign in a way that does not honor God. This week 20 million Britons tuned to a service that was rooted in the Bible and that had an inspiring message for the world. God ordained the coronation ceremony with trumpets, music, anointing and crowning. Yet He allowed men to pervert it. While many parts today are not biblical, the basis for the entire ceremony is still as it was in days of old for the kings of Israel. King Charles was handed a Bible and told to keep mindful of the law and the gospel of God as the rule for the whole life and government. He was asked, "Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the gospel?" Later, the crowd shouted "God save the king! Long live the king!" just as they did 3,000 years ago!
These are wonderful words. The coronation told the world that the Bible is "the most valuable thing" in the world. But the family does not seem to be sending that message by the way they live their lives, not using the Bible to regulate what they do. The ceremony also included the other religions of the world and part of the oath was to seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely. Yes God allows us to have a choice to live as we want but leaders should be leading in God's plan for us, not leading into other paths. Just 46% of the country has said that they are Christian. That is a drop of 11% in 10 years. The other religions represented during the ceremony included Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Sikhism and grew by 100,000 in a decade. And those who say they have no religion has increased by 8.5 million bringing those with no faith to 22 million or a third of the population. This does not seem like leading a God fearing country.
It was interesting to me that at the time of the anointing, partitions were brought out to enclose the king and the Archbishop to allow Charles to have "a most solemn and personal sacred moment between him and God" during the anointing with the Chrism oil from trees in Jerusalem. We can have a private moment with Jesus and we don’t need partitions. As a member of God’s royal family, I can come to Him in prayer anytime anywhere and it will just between me and Him!!
The crown that was placed on his head was of solid gold, with 444 jewels and weighed nearly 5 pounds. The King was given a scepter encrusted with jewels. This scepter is a symbolism of power. Power as King. When Jesus comes in the clouds, He will have a scepter. He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!! Christ is mentioned having a scepter in the Bible—in Genesis 49:10 with the scepter belonging to Christ when He claims His children.
I long to attend a coronation ceremony! That ceremony where we pledge allegiance to the Maker and Ruler of the universe! And the one when we will worship at the feet of the King of Kings. What a wonderful day it will be! And I look forward to placing my own crown at the feel of my King. And I hope that my crown will have a jewel or 2, maybe 4 for each one of my boys.
When He cometh, when He cometh To make up His jewels, All His jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own:
Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning, They shall shine in their beauty, Bright gems for His crown.
He will gather, He will gather The gems for His kingdom; All the pure ones, all the bright ones, His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning, They shall shine in their beauty, Bright gems for His crown.
Little children, little children, Who love their Redeemer, Are the jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning, They shall shine in their beauty, Bright gems for His crown.
I choose to be a jewel in God's Heaven and in His Crown and live in His Royal City and have a palace mansion to call my own in His Kingdom and to live with my reunited family of Princes and Princesses! And I will have sparkles in my mansion! And maybe I will have a wall of agates and another wall will be an aquarium.
