Assumptions - Mary Queen Of Scots

1542–87

Born into privilege and power, Mary Stuart became the queen of Scotland upon the death of her father, James V, when she was six days old. Of course, she had some growing up to do, so she was sent off to the French court while others ruled her homeland.

Mary was pampered and prodigious, educated in languages, music, and the Catholic faith. At age fifteen, she married the fourteen-year-old crown prince of France, who became king the next year and died the year after that. By the age of seventeen, Mary, a widow and doubly a queen, had mourned the deaths of several people close to her.

Returning to Scotland, young Mary ruled through six tempestuous years. Presbyterian reformer John Knox railed against Mary’s staunch Catholicism. To her credit, she met with him to resolve issues, but she ultimately accused him of treason. Her love life was often wrapped up in political scandal. Her third husband was accused of murdering her second husband, and she was implicated. Mary was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in 1567, in favor of her one-year-old son, James (yes, that King James).

She fled to England, assuming that her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, would welcome her. Not so. England had Protestant-Catholic tensions of its own, and Mary herself had talked with supporters about making England Catholic again (and assuming the throne). Seen as a threat, Mary was imprisoned and eventually executed.

It’s hard to see into the soul of Mary, but maybe there are spiritual lessons to be learned. Who knows how she was shaped by the pampering and pain of her youth? It seems that as a young queen, she assumed she deserved respect—and was surprised when she didn’t get it. As a devout Catholic, she might have carried similar assumptions into her spiritual life. Many people of different denominations have the same issue today. Because I am a good Christian, God owes me respect. But true Christianity is not about deserving God’s respect; it’s about relying on his mercy.

In Frederick Schiller’s insightful play Mary Stuart, the proud queen makes a humble confession shortly before her execution: “I tremble to approach, sullied with sin, the God of purity.”

All assumptions aside, that is the response of true faith.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

James 4:10