My youngest daughter was playing dress up the other evening. She had on a costume that was called Queen Esther. My wife, Angel, was sharing with her about the bravery and courage of Queen Esther to stand up to the decree of the king who was about to kill all of the Jews in the nation. It was a powerful moment for me and not so sure how powerful it was for my daughter. She began calling her dog the “Royal Dog”. As I was watching her do this, the Lord placed this thought in my mind. Your dog is only royal because your daughter designated her as royal. Just like you, you are only royal because I the Lord have designated you royal because of my Son.

Later the next day I came across this passage from Deuteronomy. The part that jumped out to me is that the people of Israel were not chosen because of their righteousness. They were chosen people because of the wickedness of the other nations. Their blessing came from God designating them as His people and not because they were inherently a special people.

This day as you live your life, remember you are a royal people because God has said so and not because of your own qualities. It is humbling to receive love because He chooses to love us rather than because we deserve to be loved. It redefines my heart to be a heart of gratitude rather than a heart of enlightenment.

Pastor Aaron Kruse