Friday, April 29, 2011

"THE" Royal Wedding: A Spiritual Perspective

4/29/11

Nielsen estimated that 22.8 million people in the US watched the Wedding of Prince William to “commoner” Kate Middleton. A whopping 400 million reportedly caught livestream coverage on YouTube alone. I wonder if Billy Graham has ever had that large a viewing audience.

From the dress to the tiara to the balcony kiss, the world seemed to be enraptured. But…..did they have “ears to hear” when Kate’s brother James read from Roman’s chapter 12? I hope so. That chapter is so filled with truth. Brother Buddy says one of his Bible study chums, who is the principal at Atherton high school in Louisville, reads Romans chapter 12 everyday.

Here’s some of my spiritual perspectives of that chapter from the Revised Standard Version, which he read.

1I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2) (Applying those 2 verses would be a great way to begin everyday.)
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; (The ability to recognize what is good, and hold on to it will allow genuine love to flow through you to others)
11 Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. (Trusting the Lord for His strength will keep you going and glowing as you serve others)
12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (This is not just a put-on happy face, that would vanish by noon, rather a deep seeded joy that springs from His grace in your suffering and a fervency in prayer.)
18 If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. (Wouldn’t that make for a sound sleep if you could end your day knowing that you had made choices throughout the day to live at peace with all those who had crossed your path!)

Those are my spiritual perspectives. What are yours?