The monarchy changes but the Lord reigns forever

As the official period of ‘royal mourning’ comes to an end today, the reign of our new monarch, King Charles III, gets underway. This comes at a time of economic and political anxiety – worries about the cost of living, constitutional pressures within the devolved nations of the UK, a war in Europe and a new Prime Minister in post.

Although history normally progresses over time, there are momentous moments of change which encapsulate the change, and this seems like one of those times. 

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was massive economic, technological and social change

When Queen Elizabeth II began her reign, the privations of the war continued with rationing remaining until 1954 and our expectations for household luxuries and holidays were very modest. Although there are people facing real poverty and hardship today, our general standard of living is much higher than that post-war generation.

In the 1950’s telephones (landlines) were only just becoming commonplace in all our homes. Before then, it was considered an item for rich households and businesses. Nowadays of course, most family members will possess a smartphone with computer processing power unimaginable then and connecting to a network of information larger than the encyclopaedias that my grandparent’s generation owned as children (although possibly less accurate at times).

But those changes were nothing compared to the religious and social changes. The seeds for change were there already with the decline of gospel churches but the fruit was borne over these 70 years. We moved from being a publicly and consciously Christian country to being predominantly secular with only the skeleton of Christianity made visible on state occasions. Even amongst so-called evangelical Christian leaders, confidence in fundamental matters of Christian doctrine and practice were progressively denied.

Marriage and the family have been redefined. When the Queen ascended to the throne over ninety-five per cent of babies were born into married families. Nowadays in Britain less than half of babies are born, and nearly half grow up, outside the traditional two-parent household. 

Then there are changing attitudes towards sex outside of heterosexual marriage and the debates going on about gender identity. This is cheered on by our media and entertainment industry who have mostly lost any sense about what might be considered wholesome and helpful. 

So as we transition with steady and reassuring formality we mark the end of an era and the reality that we live in a very different country and world than our last monarch inherited. In a way, the passing to the new generation encapsulates all that change and creates a new starting point. We are wealthier but not generally happier. We have more freedom but seemingly less time to enjoy it. We have information but not necessarily more wisdom. We talk about our feelings more, but feel less secure in relationships. We march in the name of love but have less tolerance for historic views. We are more diverse, more educated, more travelled, and more entertained but less confident in our nation’s future and confused by our past. 

Part of our response to the new King is in fact to reflect on these changes as I have sought to in that brief sketch. You may have your own reflections. We need a real sense of the days in which we live. 

But how else should we respond?

Fervent Prayer

This might be blindingly obvious to say but we must pray for our leaders and our country. Prayer is always underrated and often underutilised. We must pray that our King and Prime Minister lead us wisely and well. We should particularly pray that the “deep faith” that King Charles expressed in his speech to the nation would be something heartfelt and true, shaped by the gospel of grace. That Charles III might live for Christ following the particular calling to be the head of state, and that as the opportunity arises he might call on people to accept Christ as their king and live for him. 

Urgent Evangelism

We need to recognise we live in a post-Christian nation. The social changes are just a symptom of the fact that we stopped listening to God as our ultimate authority a while ago. Armed with prayer we must go and fight for truth, to reason with people on the witness of the world and the word of God to the existence of a transcendent holy personal loving and God who offers us forgiveness and new life as we submit to King Jesus. We do this realising that the benign environment for the Christian faith has long gone and there will be more of a cost to following Jesus. 

In our evangelism we should take more note of the public discourse. People are talking about the monarchy right now, about service and even about faith. It may not last long, but for now, we can speak truth into that. We need to show and tell that the only hope for people is not in continuity or the legacy, not in service and duty, not in the nation-state or the monarchy (or indeed the overthrow of these), but in our eternal Saviour who is the ultimate friend who will give us more than a brief audience in their palace.

Public Faith

Most of us do not have personal knowledge of the Queen’s theological understanding but we do know that she had a public faith, increasingly so in the final decades, and a very practical outworking of that in her service.

Are we known as humble servants? Hard workers? Exemplary employees and bosses, always giving time and dignity to those we deal with. Are we thoughtful neighbours, dutiful family members, good citizens? Can we say about our good deeds that non-Christians “may see them and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:12)

As we mourn the death of our Queen and reflect on her life, as we pray for the days ahead  and seek to win others for Christ, be inspired to tell people we are Christians and live as if we believe it, yes in public service and also in public proclamation. This is only going to grow harder as our worldview collides with the secular worldview, but stand firm. Be encouraged by the words of Jesus: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Luke 21:33)