How to be a Royal Heir; Part II
Royals Are Beautiful People.
As a Child of God you are a royal heir.
As I continued this lesson with my middle grade girls, they described princesses or royal people as beautiful people.
This is one of my favorite verses about being beautiful: Beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news… Isaiah 52:7 and Romans 10:15
Martin Luther King Jr. is credited with the quote “One day I hope my children can be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” However, a couple thousand years ago this very concept was recorded in scripture. “God looks not at the outer appearance, but at the heart” I Samuel 16:7
I Peter 3:4 tells us Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
A gentle quiet spirit does not mean you never speak your mind; it does not mean you will never get fired up. What a gentle quiet spirit is referring to is the attitude of your heart.
We see many beauty products that display the word “pure.” True beauty comes from a pure heart that seeks after God. I used to tell my children and my students to run every thought through the filter of God’s word to determine its purity. I would challenge you to do the same.
James 1:27 tells us that PURE and genuine religion in the sight of God is taking care orphans and widows and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
OUR BEAUTY COMES FROM THE DEEP PLACE IN OUR HEARTS, MOVING US TO THE ACTS OF SERVICE AS A RESULT OF THE GIFTS HE HAS GIVEN US.
“Royalty wears only the finest clothes.” Said one of my students, with her head held high and with a mock snootiness in her voice.
As a Child of the King, how do you dress?
Here is how scripture tells us we should dress:
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Romans 13: 14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3: 12-14
Let our uniform that identifies us as a Child of the King, as a Royal Heir, be one of compassion kindness, gentleness and patience. When you put on the overcoat, let it be one of love.
Be identified, not by our fancy clothes, but by our outward actions of our inward spirit. I Timothy 2: 9-10
Oh, and don’t forget, as royal warriors, we always need to be dressed and prepared for battle. Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 1
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The idea of our beauty as a Royal Heir is not that we can’t wear pretty clothes or do our hair up nice, but that we should be identified by the posture of our hearts, by our actions that are spurred on by the gifts and faith we have been given through our salvation.
My daughter-in-law is a personal stylist. She helps her clients dress appropriately for the job or role they have. She helps them get rid of the junk in their closets that may have worked for their “old self” but would be inappropriate for their “new self.” When they are done, they feel confident and equipped to face the day.
To be a beautiful person, we have God’s Inspired Word as our personal stylist. He cares about how the flowers look and the bird that falls, so of course, He cares about us and every hair on our heads. He tells us to untangle ourselves from the old creatures that we were before salvation and to clothe our new selves with strength and dignity, with gentleness and kindness, to be prepared for battle and equipped with faith, and above all with a cloak of love.
I would challenge you, before you go out your front door today, make sure you are clothed appropriately to face the world. Check you “mirror” and look for the Imago Dei. I pray that when people see you, they will see Jesus shining through.
