She Still Had a Need

I was saddened to hear of the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The stability she provided for the United Kingdom for the last 70 years was extraordinary. I was struck by her gentle and quiet spirit, her kindness, and her humility.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had everything that money could buy. There would be someone at her beck and call any moment of the day. She could go wherever she wanted to go whenever she wanted to go. She had more beautiful clothes than she could ever wear. She was cheered by throngs of people wherever she went. She was highly respected and beloved by many. Yet, she STILL had a need, and she KNEW she had a need.

She spoke about her faith: "For me, the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.”  Queen Elizabeth realized her need. She needed Jesus.

I think about Paul in the Bible and his extraordinary background and pedigree. Philippians 3:5-7, Paul bears all by telling the Philippians these words about his past:

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more; circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul had every reason in the world to be cocky. He was a cool dude with an extraordinary background who knew the law backward and forwards. He had the right pedigree. The right background. He even boasted about his faithfulness to the law. Yet, He STILL had a need. He needed Jesus.  

Dr. Scott McKnight writes “His former way of life was shattered by an entirely new perspective what were ‘gains’ are now a ‘loss.’  Paul literally considered his former law-observant life as ‘garbage.’” (3:7-8) (Scott McKnight, Philippians and 1st and 2nd Thessalonians) What mattered to Him now was “knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.” Paul’s faith was in a real person, Jesus! He saw His need! And Jesus transformed Paul’s life, as He did Queen Elizabeth.

We’re all broken people. We all need Jesus. Queen Elizabeth. Paul in the Bible. You and I. Check out the song "We All Need Jesus"(by Danny Gokey and Koryn Hawthorne) that says it so well:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRX-r51_1TA

 
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.