Royalty

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord: my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness. (Psalm 61:10 NKJV)

Ed and I love watching the Andy Griffith show.  In one of the shows Andy finds himself being the judge for Mayberry’s beauty pageant.  Everyone is trying to influence him into picking his or her daughter or friend as the pageant queen.  Andy is in a quandary, not knowing what to do.  On the day of the pageant and just before announcing the winner he realizes that the true pageant winner should be the sweet older lady who had been behind the scenes - the one who was encouraging everyone else, the one who had made the robe and made everything run smoothly.  So, to everyone’s dismay, Andy announces her to be the pageant queen.
What an awesome picture of how God sees us!  God’s view of us is not from a world’s perspective.  It is not based on outward appearances, fame or fortune, but on who God is.  When God sees us, He sees Jesus!  That is righteousness!  In other words, when I look into the face of Jesus, Jesus is looking into the face of God.  I like to think of it this way when I look into the mirror:  instead of seeing my own face, I see King Jesus.  When we ask King Jesus to become our Savior, God no longer sees the sin; He sees King Jesus!  Our sin has been wiped out; the bill has been stamped “Paid in Full,” and buried in the deepest sea!  That is Righteousness!
We have been chosen as royalty! The robe of righteousness has been placed on our shoulders and the crown of salvation put on our heads.  I don’t think I can overstate that it is not about what we look like, what we have done, who we know, whether we are rich or poor, what we have or don’t have.  It is all about King Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.  At that very moment of acknowledgement, we become a part of God’s Royal Court and Kingdom.
He takes His scepter and declares us His own.  He bestows on us the robe of righteousness and the crown of salvation.  The adoption papers have been signed, sealed, and delivered.  We have become debtors to Jesus.  Romans 8:12-17 (NKJV) puts it this way: “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”  
He is our King, and we are His Royal Court.  It is a gift, an honor, and a privilege to belong to this Royal Family.  A rare opportunity has been granted to us.  We have become a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We are heirs and joint heirs with Him!  Wow!  Wow!  Wow!
Therefore, we are to live as Kingdom people, His royalty.  The question is, what might that look like?  What does a royal court do?  How would they act?  Paul says in Romans 13:11-14 (NKJV), “Do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.  Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly (as royalty), as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (brackets mine)
The key to understanding our royalty is in never forgetting what our sin cost our King, Jesus.  That in turn frees us to be all that our God and King desires for our lives.
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  (1 Peter 2:9-10)