A Beauty Glorious

I love The Princess Diaries (the movie, not the book, surprisingly enough). I love imagining what it would be like to be Mia, the awkward and slightly dorky (well, maybe more than slightly) fifteen-year-old who’s “still waiting for normal body parts to arrive,” and then all in one day finds out her grandmother is a queen, her father was a prince—and she is a princess.

“Me? A princess? Shut up!”



I’d be shocked too. But it gets weirder. (Watch the entire scene here—start at 3:05.)

QUEEN CLARISSE: Since your father died, you are the natural heir to the throne of Genovia. That's our law. I'm royal by marriage. You are royal by blood. You can rule.
MIA: Rule? Oh, no. Oh, no. No, no, no. Now you have really got the wrong girl. I never lead anybody—not at Brownies, not at Campfire Girls—Queen Clarisse, my expectation in life is to be invisible, and I’m good at it.

A princess from birth, born to rule, ignorant of her destiny. So she instead lives her life hiding from the world—invisible.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty familiar to me.

I, too, am a princess. I am royalty. As a daughter of the King of the Universe, I have been given authority and destiny. I can be a world changer. All of us who have been made royal by God’s own blood can truly be shapers of history.

If we want to be.

The thing is, far too often we’d rather just be invisible. Blend in, play the games, be popular (or just left alone), generally be normal, but never, ever do anything to truly stand out. Even in our churches and youth groups. We become “normal” Christians…we love Jesus, we read our Bibles, we sing the songs, we drop money in the plate…but we don’t really stand up and act like we know we’re royalty.

Well, ladies, it’s about time for “normal” to be over.

Romans 8:16-17 ESV "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

We are heirs of God—fellow heirs with Christ himself! Glory is our birthright.

Normal is not. You pretty much gave up all right to a normal life when you came into the Kingdom. Did you notice the reference to suffering in the verse above? Yeah. Most people who suffer don’t suffer because they’re content to play it safe and just blend in. They suffer because they stand out and do something different—but glory is the result. That’s a promise.

So, what does it mean to act like royalty? Well, there’s a lot, but here’s a few to chew on:

You’re not normal. (I think we’ve been over this already.) So don’t act normal. Since you are a princess of the Kingdom of God, your priorities should be higher than this world. Don’t lower yourself to their standards. Keep your focus on the King and his kingdom.

You have authority. You have the power to bring light into darkness. God listens when you pray, and he moves at the sound of your voice. Partner with him to make a real difference in the world around you.

You are a representative of the King. Not just as a servant, but as a family member, as royalty yourself. Show those around you who the King is and what he’s about. Live love loud.

You’re a princess, for goodness sake! You are beautiful, you are loved, and you are strong. Your worth is not defined by those around you. It’s defined by the God who made you and calls you his own. Don’t ever forget that.

One more thing: Like Mia, you are destined to lead. Invisibility is no longer an option. All it takes is for one person to stand up first, and others will follow. Don’t be afraid to speak up, to do something never done before! You’ve got the King of Creation—your Daddy—at your back. Stand proudly, speak boldly, love extravagantly, and live the life of the Kingdom you were born into.

It’s your turn to shine

You were born for such a time as this

I am royalty

I have destiny

I have been set free

I’m going to shape history