A Royal Calling

With all of this royal baby news, and the most recent video of Prince William and Duchess Katherine presenting their baby to the world, I got to thinking. I looked at Kate holding her newborn son and wondered, “Has it hit her yet?”, you know the realization that in her arms she is holding royalty. She just gave birth to a prince. Her little guy due to name and bloodline could someday be King.

I wonder if the thoughts going through her head are similar to those of Mary. Katherine’s son, whether he wants it or not has duties, responsibilities, and tasks set before him before his little mind can even comprehend them, before his body can perform them. In a much more significant, yet less grand way Mary gave birth not just to a king, but to the King of kings. She gave birth to a baby whom she was told would be the Savior of all. I highly doubt she knew exactly what that meant, but somewhere deep down she knew there were things this little boy in her arms would have to face, things he was responsible for completing, and though she didn’t know the details just yet she must have at least sensed the danger that always comes with a task so important and necessary.

I imagine that Kate and Mary have much in common. Each being so enthralled with the birth of their first baby, each being caught up in the moment, the new exciting reality of every day with a new born, yet each in the quiet moments of the night as they hold their new born baby wondering what life and the future will hold for a child with so much responsibility already resting on his shoulders.

One of the biggest differences in the realities of these two women lies in the announcement. In some ways similar, the new prince had his birth announced on the steps of the hospital, our King was announced with a brand new star in the sky. Yet unlike the celebration that Katherine and William get to enjoy with most of the world rejoicing over the birth of her son, Mary and Joseph were quickly whisked to a country that was not their own to seek refuge from those who wished to see their son, our Savior, dead. Most of the world did not fall on bended knee, the “reporters” were not swarming to get the latest on the baby prince’s new life, they weren’t heading back to a life of riches and royalty. Instead they were running from hit men and living in poverty.

I wonder if Mary ever wondered “who am i, who am I to have given birth to a king?” She had so little that she couldn’t even give birth in an inn. She instead gave birth to her baby in a barn having no bed for her baby she had to place him in a manger to sleep. I am sure that while she was very willing to do God’s will that she often wondered why her, that she felt inadequate and weak. She probably felt incapable of providing her Royal Baby with a life that could properly serve his needs or his station, and yet God called her, God chose her. 

Often there are tasks set before us that seem too big to handle, too important to be given to us and yet God does give them. He calls us to tasks that seem insurmountable, unbelievable, and unachievable. He calls us to things that are above and beyond our abilities, that could easily point out all of our weaknesses, failures, and flaws and asks us to trust Him. He urges us to pursue these callings by leaning on His strength instead of depending on our own. In this way He turns our weakness into a testimony of His steadfast commitment to the completion of every good thing. Hebrews 13:20-21 says,
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, or like the task you are currently holding in your heart is to big for you to accomplish, remember Mary and the baby she held in her arms. Think of the task that was placed in the arms of a young virgin, a girl younger than most new mothers of our day, a girl who literally had the fate of the world born of her womb, the young girl who held the King of kings in her arms and called him her own.