A few years ago, my daughter was in tears when I picked her up from school.
“What happened, darling? Are you hurt?” I asked her.
She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. Biting her lips, she told me why, almost whispering, “They said I am not a princess.” Apparently, during her recess time in school, some of the girls in her school teased her about the meaning of her name, which is princess, and told her she was not a princess because she did not look royal and there was no kingdom in the city we live in. She was nine years old.
Children are so trusting. They are like sponges that absorb almost anything they are given, and this first information or knowledge stays with them forever. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it, such is a wisdom from Solomon in the book of Proverbs. The thing is, this truth applies to both good (right) knowledge and bad (wrong) knowledge. That is why the media is so rampant with all kinds of content trying to get the minds of our children. What they feed on, or rather, we as parents and guardians allow them to feed on, shape their thinking and beliefs.
Growing up, I experienced both eras when televisions were a rare sight as well as when the Internet was made as a free resource (read: free wifi). I was blessed that my childhood was mostly filled with playing with my cousins outdoor, running, and exploring things, and not stuck in front of a screen most of the time. Growing up doing mostly boyish activities with my cousins like climbing up cabinets and trees, as well as finding worms, it was interesting that I somehow believed in my heart that I was a princess.
Decades later, when my knowledge of who I am in Christ increased, I learned that my faith in Jesus had changed everything, that being in Christ makes me a real princess. It was not just a matter of not ended up in hell and I would go to heaven one day. I began to understand why the cross is the power of God unto salvation, I started to see what happened at the cross and what happened when someone receives the salvation in Jesus Christ.
The Power of the Cross
Before the cross, I was a sinner, condemned to death. So God, because of His great love for us not wanting us to perish sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to be born as a man yet without sin so that He can be our substitute. Jesus came to be our ransom, to pay for the sins of the whole world with His broken body and His own blood.
When we partake in the work of Jesus at the cross by faith, righteousness is imputed to us, all by grace through faith.
We become a new creation, resurrected with Christ, one with Him: what He is we are. We are now children of God Most High, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17). God is the King of all and we are His children, princes and princesses. The Bible even calls us kings. I explained it in detail in the Queen article.
We might not be dressed in purple and wearing crowns now, but the truth is we are the real royalty, members of the royal family of the household of God our Father. In God’s eyes, we are kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Our mark of royalty is mercy and kindness, as Jesus shares in Luke 6:35.
My daughter is coming to thirteen years young now, and she has fully understood how she is a true a princess through Jesus Christ. To me, this is the best gift I can give her, and helping her to be planted on this foundation is critical: she is clear of her identity in Christ and her act and speech will align accordingly. Instead of being conformed to this world, she is conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, God's Son.
My prayer and blessing to you is that you would share this truth too with your young girls, princesses in Christ, in your life. As we plant our daughters in the truth of the cross, we shall reap godly queens who will flourish in Godly purpose one day and bringing the kingdom of Heaven into the earth, being fruitful in every good work to the glory of God our Father and of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
