But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

I’m wondering how many of you will be getting up at 4 AM on Friday to view the start of network coverage of the royal wedding live from Westminster Abbey? It is the wedding of the century, you know…

The hype is building and it’s getting tough to ignore, although I’m trying hard. I open the Washington Post and it’s there. I flip on cable news and it’s there- Fox, CNN, MSNBC. I was actually grateful that the White House released President Obama’s birth certificate yesterday, not because I am a “birther” and doubt his citizenship, but just so the news would have something else to talk about. This morning I turned on WTOP to hear a weather report for London, England. I quickly flipped to NPR just in time to hear an in-depth interview with a woman who’s been tent camping for a week and a half along the parade route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey so she can catch a glimpse of the royal carriage as it passes. The BBC has assigned 650 reporters to work the event to bring complete coverage to the world. Pundits are estimating that the wedding may be viewed by upwards of 2 billion people or almost 1/3 of the earth’s population. Isn’t this all a little much?

Now I’ve got nothing against Prince William and Catherine Middleton. In fact, I wish them well. Poor Kate. I can’t imagine the pressure of walking down the aisle in high heels in front of 1900 dignitaries from around the world. (Actually I can’t imagine walking anywhere in high heels… and that’s a good thing.) All I know is there’s enough pressure built into an ordinary run-of-the-mill wedding let alone a wedding with thousands of years of pomp and ceremonial expectations and 2 billion people watching. Somehow for the bride and groom I think this wedding may turn out to be something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

Why do people care so much? I think all of this royal wedding mania points to a primal human instinct- a desire to be special and valued. To find that life is more than just the ordinary humdrum existence that it appears. Maybe, like in the Princess Diaries, you are actually nobility- the prince or princess of Genovia; wherever that is. You must have a royal bloodline or be related to someone important somewhere. And if not, at least we can dream…. So where is that wardrobe that leads to Narnia

But, of course, the truth is, you are royalty. As a believer in Jesus you are part of God’s kingdom (1 Thess. 2:12). In fact, you’ve already been adopted into the royal family (Eph. 1:5) and are a son or daughter of the King (John 1:12).

And wealth? You’ve been lavished with the riches of God’s grace and given a glorious inheritance (Eph. 1:18).

And a wedding? You just wait. You’ve been invited to the wedding of the ages- not as a spectator, but as a participant as part of the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27). And the splendor of that wedding reception will be talked about for thousands of years (Rev. 19:1-9).

So rejoice and celebrate in YOUR royal name! Believe it. Llive like it. And get busy sharing it. William and Kate aren’t the only royalty on the planet. It’s easy to lose sight of, but God’s kingdom is here and it lives in us!

How would it change your life to recognize you are royal?