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A child of the King!

Wally Sawatzky

Forty years ago, I met a prince in the Colonel Mewburn Pavilion of the University Hospital in Edmonton, where I was working as a nursing attendant to pay my way through university. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at the beginning of the afternoon shift. After hearing the day staff’s report on the patients, there was a lull in activity and so I toured the ward, visiting with the veteran patients. The first patient I met was elderly, sitting in his wheelchair in the hallway where the sun shone through the window and covered him with warmth. He was afflicted with a debilitating disease that rendered him almost helpless. I greeted him warmly and asked, “How are you this afternoon?”

His voice was feeble; I had trouble hearing him. I placed my hands on the arms of his wheelchair so that I was facing him and bent down to hear his answer. This is what he said,

“My Father is rich in houses     and lands, He holdeth the wealth of the     world in His hands! Of rubies and diamonds,     of silver and gold, His coffers are full;     He has riches untold. I’m a child of the King,     a child of the King: With Jesus my Saviour,     I’m a child of the King.”1

I stood there with my mouth agape. He was, elderly, confined to a wheelchair, stricken with a debilitating disease, a few weeks before his death, and smiling through his tears, he told me that he was “a child of the King” – a prince. What a contrast! I was, strong, young and healthy with a whole life ahead of me filled with plans and dreams. He was, weak, elderly and sick, with death just weeks away. I looked at him again and softly said, “So am I!”

“Who is the King?” He is “the LORD strong and mighty” who created and owns the world and everything in it (Psalm 24). He is “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).

What does is take to become a princess or prince of this King? All we have to do is receive Him: “To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).

So, how do I live like God’s princess or prince? Does it mean expensive jewellery, chauffeured limousines and being the guest of honour at a royal party? Some Christians think so. Their viewpoint is called the “health and wealth gospel”. An example might be Harold Hill’s 1974 book How to Live Like a King’s Kid. His chapter titles include “How to Succeed in Everything”, “How to Get More for your Money”, “How to Get Rid of an Aching Back”, “How to be Ecstatically Happy in Traffic” and “How to Avoid Auto Accidents, Tornadoes, Firebombs, and Falling Rockets”. An example he gives is Sister Tarwater, who hears that a tornado is heading towards her house. She prays to the Lord to divert the funnel, and just before it reaches her place, it turns and ravages her neighbour’s place. Another example is Hill’s experience in an airplane. The pilot announces that the landing gear won’t descend and the plane will have to land on its body. During the panic, the Holy Spirit shows him that all of the hydraulic fluid has drained from the landing gear. After his prayer, the oil of the Holy Spirit fills the system; just ten feet above the ground, the landing gear descends, and the plane lands safely. Hill makes comments such as, “King’s kids don’t have to settle for the natural. They don’t even have to settle for second best. King’s kids get special treatment.”

A careful reading of Scripture reveals that the King does not promise this lifestyle of magic to His children. Rather, to live like a King’s kid means to live like Jesus Christ, to be humble, weak, obedient, human, servant-like and sacrificial – but always having the strength of God. The glory comes at the end and lasts eternally. The royal party will occur in heaven, where we will receive a white robe and a crown of righteousness that will last forever.

Consider these wonderful words:

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

Wally Sawatzky lives on Pender Island, B.C. with his wife Velma.

From the hymn, “A Child of the King.” (1877) by Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell

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Last modified January 14, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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