We watched, and we thought probably many of you did too, the pageantry of Queen Elizabeth’s death and remembrances. It was estimated that perhaps billions of people around the world watched. Thousands, if not millions, were involved in different locations in the UK.
Horses and carriages of all sorts. Soldiers and families and bands. And choirs and heads of State, all held in some of the most magnificent edifices on planet earth.
Soldiers and military and church leaders, all decked out in their finest robes, uniforms and regalia. A lone bagpipe. People lining busy streets by the thousands just to get a glimpse of the flag-draped coffin. Eulogies and praise and honors. And I don’t begrudge the Queen a thing. I believe she truly was a dedicated and devoted leader to her people and her family. One of the preachers said of her, “She followed a Master, even though she was a Queen” (Ian Greenshields).
But I couldn’t help going back to our Lord Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. He said of himself, “I receive not honor from men.”
I think of the handful of people who laid Jesus away after He died. Two secret followers, Joseph of Arimathea, who loaned a tomb, and Nicodemus the Pharisee, and a handful of devoted women who adored Him.
There were at least 100 heads of state at the Queen’s service, the elite of the world, so to speak. It was resplendent, and as one commentator said, “Breathtaking.” This is the best of what the world has to offer.
This is not the end of the Lord Jesus’ story. God raised Jesus from the dead. God was in control. God has made Him both Lord and Christ. And He will reign on the earth. Philippians 2: 9-10, “ Wherefore God has also highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
And as believers we will share His throne and His glory and His reign with Him as kings and priests forever. Praise God!
Thoughts From the Garden 