My wife and I got to go with some good friends to see a High
School play titled: Once upon a mattress. For those who don't know the story
line, it is something like this: To test a girl (who claimed to be a princess) to
see if she was a real princess, a dried pea was placed under 20 mattresses by
the evil queen. If the girl felt the pea it proved she was a real princess
because of her extreme sensitivity. The girl in the play passed the test, (with
a little help from her friends). She felt the pea, proved she was a real
princess and passed the test.
As I thought about that simple play, I thought about how
much it mirrored real life. We often claim to be "real" Christians to
our families, our friends, our co-workers and perhaps the world in general. In
fact we can claim to be real royalty also.1 Peter 2:9 tells us,
"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen
people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a
result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the
darkness into his wonderful light."
The devil is intent on proving that we are not special, not
royalty, not Christians. Much like the evil queen in the play, he constantly
presents us with tests designed to cause us to fail in being worth to wear the
name "Christian".
Surviving these tests is never easy and often quite
unpleasant. It could be resisting the influence of someone at school or work,
or even within your own family to say some un-Christian word, loose control of our
emotions or participate in some un-Christian act. It might be the influence of
the world that causes us to be tempted to forget our Christian values, morals
or ethics.
Satan tries to hide many lumps under the mattresses that
make up the layers of our lives. The only true protection we have is to remain
true to our relationship to Christ. Our world (guided by Satan) will lie to you
and try to cause you to doubt God, His Word and other believers. I like what
Paul wrote in Romans
3:4, "Even if everyone else is a liar, God is
true."
Now
in the play, as I said, the princess passed the test because of the help of her
friends. We as Christians need to be there to help one another also; because
that is the only way we will survive in this world. One of my favorite passages
is Hebrews
3:12-14, where we read: "Be careful then,
dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and
unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other
every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by
sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God
just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ."
This is one of my favorite passages, because I know I can't
make it through this world alone. I need your encouragement in my life and I
believe that you need the encouragement of other Christians also.
How about you, will you be proven royalty or not?
