Prime Minister's Questions....an opportunity for MPs to question the Prime Minister....this was Liz Truss's first time, and we could have expected some telling moments, but nothing could have prepared any of the parties for what followed...... a few simple notes were passed. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was gravely ill, and her death was only a matter of hours, not days. I was only half-listening to Keir Starmer as he harangued the newly elected Prime Minister, her attention now diverted to more pressing matters....to the day that most of us knew would come but hoped would be years away.
I was only 55 days old when Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Realms. She was the only reigning monarch I had ever known and my only Queen. She was also everyone's sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. In a country where parliamentary leaders changed every four years, she was the only constant; she offered support, stability, and common sense in good and bad times. Other countries had Presidents, Chancellors, Leaders, and constitutions, but we had, well....we had the Queen.
There's something unsettling about losing someone who has been a part of your life for so long, and the fact that you've never met them makes little difference. For many, including myself, the death of Elizabeth II will have triggered memories of lost mothers, sisters, aunts, and others....growing older does little to alleviate the pain and anguish of a lost loved one, and I suspect many memories of those lost in the recent covid epidemic will have surfaced.
For some, the death of Elizabeth II marks the end of an era, the end of a different attitude, a different way of life, and different values. Many older people still adhere to the Queen's unofficial motto of "never complain, never explain," and throughout her reign the Queen has been an incredible example of stoicism and restraint. In this age of mass communication, where the desire to publicly display one's thoughts and emotions reign supreme, the Queen managed to hold her tongue while still expressing her opinion in the most subtle of ways. Many people were drawn to her because of her restraint in expressing her opinion publicly.
On her 21st Birthday in 1947, Princess Elizabeth made a simple declaration, a simple promise.
“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
….. and that declaration, made as a young Princess wishing to represent other young people her age at the time, proved to be a promise that was never broken.
Our Queen continued to work in the job to which she had committed herself, her promise that she would be devoted to service and duty for all her life was one she kept, her unwavering dedication to service manifest just hours before her death.
At 96, an age that could easily be associated with obstinacy and stubbornness, the “I’m set in my ways” attitude was not the way of our Queen, she truly embraced the attitude and mindset of a seasoned saint.
Psalm 92:12-15 sums up beautifully her commitment to her duties as a Monarch and a woman of faith.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
She set a magnificent example of remaining dedicated and loyal to her people and God, bearing fruit in old age and proclaiming the Lord all her days.
Even now as we look back at her life, she provides a wonderful example of the answer to the question: how do we live as we wait for the return of Christ? How do we live when “we know neither the day nor the hour?”
We are no different now than those who waited in Matthew 25:5
“As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.”
The issue here isn’t that we sleep, the issue is the same stumbling block that concerned the believers of that day….He came….yes, they knew he came and we all know Jesus came and brought the Kingdom but where is he….where is he?
Peter called them scoffers, scoffers who would rather follow their own sinful desires than be ready to meet the King.
Jesus himself said there would be a delay, “the bridegroom was delayed”
So what should we do in a delay, stand at a window and watch, peering eagerly through the curtains watching and waiting for the Lord’s return, or should we do what Elizabeth did, what she had done faithfully since her teenage years…..she simply got on with it. She performed her duties and responsibilities with quiet obedience, with passion and dedication, she did what all 10 of the bridal attendants did in the parable Jesus told in Matthew 25, she slept. She performed all of the normal functions of a responsible person, she got her rest, she did her duty, she fulfilled her responsibilities…then she rested and slept…..over and over again, day after day, responsibility after responsibility, duty after duty for 70 years…until for her, the Lord returned….she maintained the wherewithal to enable her to carry out her duties, she stayed attuned with the living God.
She had oil in her lamp!
What can we learn from her life of dedicated service? We can learn that just as all ten of the bridal attendants were employed to welcome the groom and light his way to the bride, but only five had the means to do the job, we, too, must have what we need to carry out the job we have been called to do.
Do we have hope, love, expectancy, joy, peace, and patience, do we still praise and marvel at the wonder of God, of Christ? Do we continue to spend time in His Word, do we understand and believe His Word, and do we apply it to our lives? Are we satisfied with His Word, do we know and tell the whole counsel of God, or do we look elsewhere, holding our shiny little lamp but secretly thinking there must be something more, something more exciting, something more dramatic, something to make our senses tingle and satisfy our emotions and feelings?
Are we a people of obedience, of prayer and praise, who simply get on with it, resting when necessary and rising to another day of obedience to our Lord?
Do we have oil in our lamps? If not, go now and replenish your oil while there is still time.
Not sure what your duties and responsibilities are? Spend time in God’s Word until you do. Too tired to study? Go to bed earlier…sleep, rest and be responsible.
Do your duty and be found doing it when the Lord returns or until He comes for you.
Be like Elizabeth, be one who will one day throw your crown at His feet, in comparison to what He has done for us it may be a paltry gift, but it is the best we can give Him.
