The Queen: a life well lived

Our CEO Ross Hendry reflects on a life of service, duty and joy, after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

We mourn, we grieve, we acknowledge our sadness. But we also give thanks for a life well-lived; for a remarkable life of faithful Christian service in the public square. And, if you forgive the jarring familiarity when it comes to speaking of the Queen, we give thanks that a sister in Christ has been taken home.

Over the coming days we will hear hundreds of voices, hear hours of commentary, and read thousands of lines about the Queen. I am certain they will reflect on her qualities, and of virtues often undervalued and overlooked in today’s world.

The Queen’s qualities were those of humility, service, self-control, gentleness, faithfulness, patience, and joy. They were spiritual fruits, rooted in and fed by her faith.

To appreciate the Queen is to appreciate a character and a life that were guided by God’s word, inspired by Jesus, and shaped by the Spirit.

In what was to be her last public appearance on Tuesday we saw the queen carrying out her constitutional duty, commissioning her 15th Prime Minster.

Two things struck me about the photos of her meeting Liz Truss.

First the incredible sense of service to the end.

Within the constraints of her role, she was, in many ways, a servant leader to the nations and people she pledged to serve. Her Platinum Jubilee statement reiterated the commitment she first made when she was just 21, to “remain committed to serving you (the people) to the best of my ability.”

Even in her obvious frailty her vocation was to serve others. When people commend her sense of duty they must also acknowledge that it was born from a faithfulness to her lifelong calling, to reflect and model her Lord and Saviour.

The second aspect that struck me was her smile.

Despite, or perhaps because of, her frailty, it was striking.

Many will comment that she ‘looked happy’. I expect it was not happiness but something better: joy.

Like many of us the Queen, over her 96 years, suffered good times and bad. Her trials and times of difficulty were played out on a stage that most of us will never be able to comprehend, but in some of the more intimate photos of her over the years, you can perceive a strong sense of joy.

As a Christian I can identify with these elements of the Queen’s life, and it is why I can also rejoice and give thanks in the midst of sadness.

Her family should be in our prayers right now.

While they are expected to carry out their public and constitutional duties, her family will be sad and grieving. Some may have the reassurance and hope of a faith they shared with the Queen, but others will not, and all should be in our prayers over the coming days.

Although not our mother, grandmother, or family matriarch, we too perhaps will shed a tear and acknowledge our sadness.

Yet we can also give thanks for a faithful life well lived.

We grieve and rejoice. We give thanks for her unashamed witness, service, and joy, undoubtedly rooted in her faith and relationship with her Saviour.

We pray for ourselves: that like our sister in Christ, we will also be inspired by radical love and miraculous grace to serve others and reflect a deep joy.

I think she, in humility, would be happy with such a legacy.