Royalty: Part 3

This is slightly revised from something I wrote on May 1, 2011, after watching the royal wedding two days prior. 

Luke 15 is the parable of the Lost Son. For a long time, the son did his own thing. When he came to his senses, he decided to go beg to be a hired hand for his father. But his father had another plan. You see, the father didn't want his son to be a hired hand; he wanted his son to be his son.

I want to know the rest of the story...The next day and the days after that. The son was a son, with every right restored. But did he act as a son would act? Did he feel as a son would feel? Or did he continue to act as a hired hand? Is that how he saw himself? How did he walk out his renewed sonship? How did he shift his mind from pigslop-and-lucky-if-he-could-get-it to signet-ring-on-his-finger? How did he shift his mind from commoner to royalty?


The older son said, "I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends." And the father, in my imagination taking the son's face in his hands and looking deep into his eyes, said, "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." It's as if he were saying, "Son, my son. You never asked for a goat. And even more, you don't have to ask for a goat. It belongs to you. You have been slaving and following orders. Thank you. But stop slaving and start living. Work. Follow orders. But do it as my son. Celebrate. Work not for me, but with me. This land? This estate? It's not just mine; it's yours. So work. But live life and celebrate, too. Please don't be my slave. Be my son."

Which son was the Lost Son?

I think on that day two sons were restored to their father.

So my questions are: How do I walk out the truth of Royalty? How do I stop living life as a hired hand and start living as a daughter? Not a spoiled daughter, but one who knows her rightful place. One who is comfortable being set apart, who's not ashamed or afraid or secretive about her place. One who contributes not out of a sense of obligation or because a payment is coming, but out of who she is, who her Family is. One whose name - whose bloodline - makes available opportunities that otherwise would not be. One who acts out of authority...the whole kingdom is behind her. The King Himself carries her to His most intimate place and gives her His name, His authority, His very self.

Teach me, Lord, the how of a Life of belonging to You.