When Queen Victoria lived in...
Illustration
When Queen Victoria lived in Balmoral Castle in Scotland, she sometimes liked to walk through the surrounding countryside incognito: no heralds, no guards, no retainers, no ladies-in-waiting, just John Brown, her faithful servant, following at a discreet distance. One day, while on one of these "walkabouts," Queen Victoria came across a flock of sheep being driven by a boy. The queen accidentally got in front of the flock of sheep. When that happened, the boy shouted, "Get out of the way, you stupid old lady!"
Queen Victoria smiled, said nothing, and moved on. Her servant came along, scandalized, and told the boy he had just insulted Queen Victoria. "Well," said the boy, "if she expects to be treated like a queen, she ought to dress like a queen!"
God comes near to us on Palm Sunday, quietly, unassumingly, gently, not "dressed up" in the robes of royalty but in the form of a suffering servant riding a humble donkey. How "un-kinglike"! How "un-godlike"!
But don't be misled by Jesus' humility, God's "self-emptying," his servant nature. His name is the name which is above every name, and a day is coming when every knee shall bow before him, in heaven and on earth and even under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! (Philippians 2:7-11).
Queen Victoria smiled, said nothing, and moved on. Her servant came along, scandalized, and told the boy he had just insulted Queen Victoria. "Well," said the boy, "if she expects to be treated like a queen, she ought to dress like a queen!"
God comes near to us on Palm Sunday, quietly, unassumingly, gently, not "dressed up" in the robes of royalty but in the form of a suffering servant riding a humble donkey. How "un-kinglike"! How "un-godlike"!
But don't be misled by Jesus' humility, God's "self-emptying," his servant nature. His name is the name which is above every name, and a day is coming when every knee shall bow before him, in heaven and on earth and even under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! (Philippians 2:7-11).
