A Lesson from the Life of Lady Jane Grey (and a book review)
When I was in my early twenties, I discovered Lady Jane Grey Nine Day Queen of England. This biography by Faith Cook instantly became a favorite. Throughout the book, she emphasizes the effects of the work of the Reformers on Tudor England, so I thought this would be a good choice for a Reformation Day post.
Before reading this biography, I had hardly ever heard of Lady Jane Grey, but the more I read, the more I was impressed by the godly character and devotion of this young lady who stepped into the realm of English royalty for such a short time.
In many respects, Lady Jane was political pawn, forced into a politically advantageous marriage, forced by events to claim the crown, forced into imprisonment and execution. But God was at work, even in those things, as Cook is quick to point out throughout the biography.
In the end, Lady Jane’s death sentence wasn’t about the crown. It wasn’t about Mary wanting to stamp out all her rivals; it was about the Reformation.
You see, as Mary came to power and with her, the Catholic church, Protestants came under persecution. Lady Jane Grey had read and studied the Scriptures from her childhood, and was able to hold her own in theological debate with the leading Catholic theologians, whom Mary sent to convince her to recant.
It is amazing to read Lady Jane’s own words and realize that this 16-year old not only remained steadfast in her faith when faced with death, but also was so grounded in the Word of God, she was able to refute the arguments of the country’s most learned theologians, even going so far as to implore one of them to be saved! And yet, she did so in a humble, graceful, kindly way without any hint of malice, anger, or bitterness.
Lady Jane Grey lived in a time when a copy of the Bible in English was a valued and treasured possession. It was not always readily available, certainly not to the common man, and less so to the common woman. But Jane was born into a family who had the wealth, position, and inclination to purchase at least one copy of God’s Word and to invest in tutors who would ensure that the children would study it. Born to this privileged position, although it did have its difficulties and heartaches, Lady Jane proved herself faithful with the opportunity and resources God had given her.
The life of Lady Jane Grey causes me to wonder: We who are so blessed as to have God’s Word abundantly available in our own language, what use are we making of it?