There was a Disney movie that came
out in 2001 called Princess Diaries, staring Anne Hathaway. If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s probably
because you didn’t have elementary aged sisters and/or a crush on Anne Hathaway
in 2001. I may or may not have had one
or both of those things… The premise of
the movie is that Hathaway plays a teenager named Mia who discovers she is the
heir to the thrown of Genovia. The movie
chronicles her transformation from a slobbish, unmotivated, apprehensive, and
awkward teen-aged girl, into a beautiful, confident, elegant, gifted princess
who is ready to step into her role as princess of Genovia.
There is a young man (of course)
who right from the beginning saw beauty and value in Mia. He helped her draw it out as she chose to
accept her role as princess. Whether
you've seen this particular movie before or not…you know the story. It’s seen in countless fairy tales—Beauty and
the Beast, The Frog Prince, Cinderella—there is a character who is broken,
trapped, and flawed, but a hero comes to heal, free and transform them. The monstrous beast and slimy frog, are transformed
into kind and gentle princes.
Cinderella, a poor servant girl is transformed into a beautiful
princess. The awkward teen Mia learns to
see her value through another’s eyes, becoming a lovely princess. In every fairy tale there is a catalyst for
transformation, and almost always, that catalyst is the love of someone
else. The Beast could not be transformed
without Belle confessing her love. The frog
could not be transformed without the kiss of a princess. Cinderella could not become a princess until
the prince slipped the glass slipper onto the foot of his true love. Mia had to learn her value by accepting
another’s love.
Notice that in none of these tales
does anyone have the power to transform themselves. In a very grim (…Brother’s Grimm, in fact…)
version of Cinderella, the evil step sisters hack off their heels and toes in
order to fit their NBA sized feet into the glass slipper. Despite their pain and hard work, they
couldn't earn the princes’ favor…it had to be given to them.
I think these fairy tales speak of
a truth all people know intrinsically.
Love transforms…and love cannot be earned. Jesus Christ looks into the brokenness of
each of our lives…and offers to transform us with a love far greater than that
of any fairy tale. Like a prince on a
royal steed, he gallops in to rescue us from the dark dungeon of our sin. He pays the penalty and dies the death we
deserve, but conquers death like a dragon slayed once for all. All we must do is accept his love and allow
it to transform us.
What if the beast decided that the
free gift of Belle’s love couldn't transform him? What if he bought a crate of Gillette razors,
and a few hundred canisters of shaving cream so he could shave off his fur
every day in an attempt to transform himself?
What if Cinderella decided she’d try to work her way to royalty rather
than accept the love of the prince?
There is no happily ever after to those fairy tales, because there is no
real transformation. So why do we
attempt to transform ourselves? Let’s
embrace the love of Christ that transforms and brings new life. Our Heavenly kingdom awaits, and it’s a true
happily ever after.