With a rich Scottish drawl, the beloved senate chaplain captured the mood of this night on the English stage. The audience, chatting amiably, drifts to their seats.

In starched shirts and tuxedos, the orchestra drone in monotonous tuning. Stage hands scurry behind the heavy curtain, checking props, ropes and making last minute adjustments. Players mumble difficult lines as aides help adjust their colorful costumes. Finally, as the lights lower, the orchestra receives the determined tap of its conductor, then swings softly into a familiar overture.

The orchestra had performed together hundreds of times and usually played on a level somewhere close to perfection. This orchestra was as fine tuned as any machinery of its days. They knew one another’s strengths and weaknesses, and could subconsciously cover for any mistake another member might make during the production.

But this night was not a normal night. There was something unique and noteworthy about this night. What was it about this night that made the stage hands, producers, directors and even the audience stand in amazement and awe? Could there be an intruder who had skillfully made it past security and triggered some kind of fear throughout the crowd?

And suddenly, these words come forth:

"Switch to the national anthem. Switch to the national anthem!"

From one member of the orchestra to the next, the whispered orders traveled quickly across the stage and in what was described as “enchanting and delightful”, the swelling and stately strains of the national anthem began to fill the old English theatre. It was said that the stage manager ran throughout the actors whispering excitedly, “Give it all you’ve got tonight!"

"Why?” asked the anxious crew.

“Because King George has just come in…the King is in the audience!”

As the story goes, the show on this night was superlative. What a difference in the way these men and women played! The audience that night was mesmerized by their intensity and enthusiasm. The music was astonishing! The passion level was unparalleled!

With this story fresh in mind, allow me to ask you this question, “Who’s in the audience of your life?"

William Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts".

If indeed we are playing out our lives on this stage called "life". Then it becomes vitally important that we know who it is that we are playing before. When God is the only audience you are concerned about, then your life will take on new meaning. It’s time to live as though the King is in the audience!