Author: Mark Woods, 9 September 2022
In 1947, as Princess Elizabeth, Her Majesty toured South Africa with her parents and sister Margaret Rose. In a speech broadcast from Cape Town on her 21st birthday, she referred to her ancestors' motto, ‘I serve’, saying: ‘I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.’
In her speeches, particularly those she delivered at Christmas, the Queen increasingly reflected on her Christian faith. The theme of service was one she came back to often, and in this she took Jesus' example as a pattern for her own life.
In her 2000 Christmas broadcast she spoke of the reminders of Christ's life in cathedrals and abbeys, with their music, stained glass and pictures. However, she said: ‘the true measure of Christ's influence is not only in the lives of the saints but also in the good works quietly done by millions of men and women day in and day out throughout the centuries’. Christ's 'great emphasis was to give spirituality a practical purpose', she said, adding: ‘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 meets volunteers following the fire at the Grenfell Tower fire, 2017. Reuters/Dominic Lipinski
'the true measure of Christ's influence is not only in the lives of the saints but also in the good works quietly done by millions of men and women day in and day out throughout the centuries'
She referred to his example again in 2008, when she said Jesus made it clear that ‘genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving; more in serving than in being served’. ‘We can surely be grateful that, two thousand years after the birth of Jesus, so many of us are able to draw inspiration from his life and message, and to find in him a source of strength and courage,’ she said.
In 2010 she spoke at the opening of the General Synod of the Church of England, and said: ‘At the heart of our faith stand not a preoccupation with our own welfare and comfort but the concepts of service and of sacrifice as shown in the life and teachings of the one who made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant.’
And in 2012, she spoke again of God sending Jesus ‘to serve, not to be served’: ‘He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.’ She quoted the beautiful carol, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, which ‘ends by asking a question of all of us who know the Christmas story, of how God gave himself to us in humble service: “What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part.” The carol gives the answer, “Yet what I can I give him – give my heart.”’
In Cape Town all those years ago she prayed: ‘God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.’
We thank God that he answered her prayers, and for her life of service.
Share this:
Nation mourns monarch whose life was rooted in the Bible
The nation and Commonwealth mourns a monarch who was ‘a remarkable public servant’, and whose life was rooted in the Bible, said the Chief Executive Officer of Bible Society today.
This is a space for sharing your prayers of thanksgiving for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for the Royal Family as they grieve for her and for the nation and Commonwealth as we too mourn her.
Read the Bible 
Processing...