Printed and broadcast media were saturated for an extended time about the royal wedding which took place in England on April 29, 2011. --- a gigantic number of media sources were involved -- everyone had reporters all over the place, probably hanging even from the rafters!
No, I did not do extensive reading on Prince William and Catherine Middleton as the wedding day drew closer. I did not view the wedding or look at the literal hundreds if not thousands of photos related to all their history from childhood. I do not plan to buy the special issue of stamps which will be produced by the U. S. Postal Service in the near future. Plainly stated, I am not interested in this whole event and at best am very indifferent to it. And if they had some kind of claim on my life and activities I would quite possibly be defiant by way of response!
I have friends in the UK who, of course, were much interested and likely followed very closely all that was going on in the lives of Prince William and Catherine, his bride to be. And certainly in most all nations of the world there were those who passionately followed events leading up to the wedding, the ceremony itself, and happenings taking place afterward.
I am of English ancestry on my mother's side of the family -- her maiden name was Sedgwick which is about as English as one might get. And on my dad's side my ancestry is German -- what a combination! The name has been "Americanized" which is a good thing -- I saw the original in German and couldn't remember how to spell it much less be able to pronounce it!
As noted at the beginning -- I regarded the royal couple in much the same manner as the majority of this nation's and this world's population regard Almighty God.
First, there is an indifference in regard to God. He is not considered important enough to be given time and attention. The one exception is when we are plunged into a crisis and then we might consider praying and asking for His help. If you want to see how God may respond in those situations, read Jeremiah 2 -- it's a "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" chapter. In regard to the prince and his bride, I just did not consider them to be important enough to be given my attention -- not that they aren't really important, but for me, I was simply not interested.
Second, we have a heap of living to do -- places to go, people to see and tons of things to do! So why waste time with God-stuff? It simply does not fit into our agenda. In regard to the royal couple and the wedding -- I just had other things I preferred to do and so I did what I wanted to do and they were not in the picture at all. Even the headlines on the internet with pictures and all were passed by rather quickly as I moved to some other place in which I was much more interested.
Third, I believe in the living existence of Prince William and Catherine -- that they are real people living in a place thousands of miles from me. But that "belief" does not in any way whatsoever impact my life. My life is not different because I "believe" that they exist. They go their way and I go mine each day without any kind of connection being made. There are huge numbers who claim to "believe" in God -- that God does exist and many of these would get upset if confronted by an atheist who says there is no God. But the lives of these people are not at all changed and very different because of a professed "belief" that there is a God out there somewhere!
However, this claim of "belief" is a deceptive thing -- it is simply a fact that rattles around in the brain but goes no further. Someone has observed that the distance between Heaven and Hell is not as great as some might claim. The distance is really about 12 inches -- the average distance between the brain and the heart! God makes plain the fact that it requires more than mere mental assent that He exists -- life changing belief comes from the heart -- down in the depths of the soul itself, which means that my belief in God so impacts my life that I seek His mercy and forgiveness intentionally, that by choice I receive His Son, Jesus, into my life as Savior and Lord, and that I commit my life to being submissive to His will. Obedience to the will of God becomes a daily priority.
The discipline of prayer and Bible study on a daily basis is not an option in this relationship to God -- it is an absolute necessity. And this must be coupled with fellowship with other believes in a place of public worship. The one exception is when one lives in a nation that is aggressively and violently persecuting Christians and there are such in today's world. It happens in some Muslim dominated countries and atheistic systems such as China, North Korea, etc.
In conclusion, while I expressed indifference to all the media hype about a prince, his fiance and eventually their wedding, the one thing I am not indifferent to is the purpose God has for their lives. It is my prayer that God's wonderful purpose for them (and for all of us) will be fulfilled until our Lord Jesus returns to this chaotic world in power and glory as King of kings and Lord of lords!
They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. --- Titus 1:16
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