When our life unravels, He holds the threads.
Nothing is simple about navigating our overlapping identities in contemporary life. In any given situation, we find ourselves torn between our public and private selves, our roles at home or at work, the different sides of our personalities. To be a responsible parent, we have to put our laissez-faire self to death. To be a good spouse, we may sacrifice some of our drive and ambition to succeed at work. As a responsible employee, we may not be the ever-present friend we once were.
The Crown, Netflix’s recent miniseries about Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, highlights this universal reality in the unique life of the royals. Upon receiving news of the death of King George VI, Elizabeth’s grandmother, the Queen Mother Mary, references the royal practice of exchanging one’s surname for the last name “Regina,” which simply means “queen.”
“While you mourn your father, you must also mourn someone else, Elizabeth Mountbatten, for she has now been replaced by another person, Elizabeth Regina,” the Queen Mother counsels her granddaughter. “The two Elizabeths will frequently be in conflict with one another, but the crown must win. Must always win.”
Elizabeth learns what this means in the crisis surrounding Princess Margaret’s ill-fated love affair with the divorced Captain Peter Townsend. Initially, Elizabeth promises to help her sister get married no matter the scandal. She realizes only later that to do so would violate her royal duties as the head of the Church of England. In that agonizing moment, Elizabeth can be a promise-keeping sister or a faithful queen—not both. And the crown must always win.
But what of the infinite God who pictures …
Source: Christianity Today Most Read