Cinderella - my all-time favorite fairy tale. Except that it's not a fairy tale at all.
Neither is it something that happened once upon a time in a land far, far away. It happens every day right here in the U.S., in China, in Thailand, in Burkina Faso, in Korea (right, Kimmer?), in Brazil, and in Canada. As a matter of fact, it happens all over the world. Every single day.
It's the greatest story ever told. Rogers & Hammerstein and Walt Disney don't have all the details straight, but the prince and his love for the unlovely is spot-on.
It's like this: You're Cinderella. I'm Cinderella. Originally, we were simply called "Ella," and we were children of an extremely kind and benevolent father, but then we decided that we wanted some independence. We wanted to be on our own; but instead of the freedom we craved, we ended up enslaved by our cruel stepmother. We toiled endlessly, but never made her happy. We ended up covered in ashes, mud, soot, dung, and snot, etc. etc. etc. We earned the name "Cinder-ella."
Although we lost sight of our Father, He never lost sight of us, and when the time was just right, He sent His Son, the Prince, to bring us home.
He didn't send out a royal edict, commanding you to come to him. No. He left the splendor and comfort of the palace and came to you. He paid the ransom price (exorbitant as it was). Then He found you. You were covered in muck. It's a wonder He recognized you covered with so much filth, and He wasn't afraid of your filth. He wasn't worried about getting any of it on His brilliant robes. Not at all. He stepped off his glorious, blazing white stallion and met you as you wallowed around in the pig sty. He picked you up. He carried you in your weak, broken, filthy state over to the river, smearing himself with your disgusting array of garbage. He walked into that river holding your limp body tenderly in His arms.
And He knelt down in the clear fresh water, holding you close to His breast. He gently washed you: your hair, your face, the mud caked inside your ears and eyes. He cleansed you fully and completely. Then He carried you out of that river and set you upon His stallion. Climbing up behind you, He wrapped His arms around you as He grabbed the reins.
The Prince in the true story paid a ransom. That ransom was His life. Like Cinderella's prince, our Prince sees through the cinders and dirt of our lives and somehow finds us beautiful. He claims us as His own, not because we deserve it, not because we clean ourselves up, but simply because He loves us.
May the truth of Easter permeate you fully and cause you to fall before Him in worship.
Neither is it something that happened once upon a time in a land far, far away. It happens every day right here in the U.S., in China, in Thailand, in Burkina Faso, in Korea (right, Kimmer?), in Brazil, and in Canada. As a matter of fact, it happens all over the world. Every single day.
It's the greatest story ever told. Rogers & Hammerstein and Walt Disney don't have all the details straight, but the prince and his love for the unlovely is spot-on.
It's like this: You're Cinderella. I'm Cinderella. Originally, we were simply called "Ella," and we were children of an extremely kind and benevolent father, but then we decided that we wanted some independence. We wanted to be on our own; but instead of the freedom we craved, we ended up enslaved by our cruel stepmother. We toiled endlessly, but never made her happy. We ended up covered in ashes, mud, soot, dung, and snot, etc. etc. etc. We earned the name "Cinder-ella."
Although we lost sight of our Father, He never lost sight of us, and when the time was just right, He sent His Son, the Prince, to bring us home.
He didn't send out a royal edict, commanding you to come to him. No. He left the splendor and comfort of the palace and came to you. He paid the ransom price (exorbitant as it was). Then He found you. You were covered in muck. It's a wonder He recognized you covered with so much filth, and He wasn't afraid of your filth. He wasn't worried about getting any of it on His brilliant robes. Not at all. He stepped off his glorious, blazing white stallion and met you as you wallowed around in the pig sty. He picked you up. He carried you in your weak, broken, filthy state over to the river, smearing himself with your disgusting array of garbage. He walked into that river holding your limp body tenderly in His arms.
And He knelt down in the clear fresh water, holding you close to His breast. He gently washed you: your hair, your face, the mud caked inside your ears and eyes. He cleansed you fully and completely. Then He carried you out of that river and set you upon His stallion. Climbing up behind you, He wrapped His arms around you as He grabbed the reins.
The Prince in the true story paid a ransom. That ransom was His life. Like Cinderella's prince, our Prince sees through the cinders and dirt of our lives and somehow finds us beautiful. He claims us as His own, not because we deserve it, not because we clean ourselves up, but simply because He loves us.
May the truth of Easter permeate you fully and cause you to fall before Him in worship.
that's right, lori! and yay! my name is one of your stories! :-)
ReplyDeletebeautiful.
So hey, what are you trying to do to me? Are you purposefully trying to turn me into a babbling idiot? Do you know how hard it is to be moved by something to the point of tears, and yet be sitting in a crowded coffee shop and have to maintain your composure? Well let me just tell you it's freakin' hard! (but then I remembered my national campaign, "Cry Across America", which fights the ridiculousness of our culture that says crying in public is bad. !)
ReplyDeleteI was at first a tad disappointed to read your last line, referring to Easter. It sounded so wonderful, but then, at first thought, became just another Easter message. Now, I don't want to get cheesy here, but as I realized that you were speaking on the gospel message, you ARE speaking of the truth of Easter. Easter is the gospel message, which is applicable all day, every day. We can, and should, celebrate Easter every day! (that was the cheese part.) Thanks for reminding us...