It’s a familiar fairy-tale storyline. Once there was a beautiful girl, born to be a princess. Her heart was pure. Her love was true. But, alas! She fell into the evil clutches of some malevolent villain who placed her under a curse. Now trapped, her only hope was for a handsome prince to set her free.
This prince, when he arrives, is not only physically strong, but also spiritually pure, he has to be to defeat her oppressor and win the fair maiden’s hand.
Just as she begins to despair, he appears. With bravery and cunning, the prince lays siege to the tower where she is held by the curse and breaks the icy grip of the sinister force holding her captive. Blood is shed, and more than once the prince appears overmatched. But he is valiant and relentless. Eventually, all is well in the world. The dragon is slain, the villain destroyed. The object of his heart’s desire is rescued.
They ride off to his castle on the hill where they live happily ever after.
This story — or some variation of it — is buried deeply within our collective conscience. Every little girl dreams that one day her prince will come. Little boys intuitively rehearse their parts with cardboard paper-towel tubes, jousting with one another in preparation for the day when they will be called upon to dispatch some real enemy. No one has to tell children these stories. Somehow, this idea is already in us. The brave man risking life and limb to rescue the beautiful woman is as close to universal as it gets.
And that’s why there are few times more devastating in the life of a woman than when she is told the opposite — that she is not valued. She is not wanted. No one is willing to fight for her. She is no man’s treasure. Rather, she is ugly and unloved.
What happens to a woman who hears these words? The worst things you can imagine. And she’s likely to tell herself that she deserves them. A little girl who has been abandoned or abused is often willing to do nearly anything as an adult to get the attention she mistakes for love. She will endure insult and assault, and it may never occur to her that she deserves anything else.
Deep down, she believes that the hero will never come. She has been compromised. She does not deserve a prince, for she is no princess.
It is for two women who fit this profile all too well that Jesus came. They had sinned and been sinned against. They had been hurt and made cynical by life. They were guilty and embarrassed. One deserved to die. The other may have wished to.
It is for men and women who fit this profile all too well that Jesus still comes — our conquering hero, strong and pure, risking life and limb to break the chains of oppression and set us free forever, to demonstrate once and for all that the pertinent issue is no longer the sins of our past but the God of our future. And one day (it may not be long), we shall ride with Him to His castle on a hill where we will all live happily ever after.
On one hand, it’s important to remember that Jesus looks at you like the hero looks at the beautiful damsel in distress. That’s how much He values you. He would rather die than live without you.
On the other hand, it’s equally important to remember that Jesus looks at your neighbour the same way. The irritating receptionist, the traffic cop, your mother-in-law, the woman who stole your husband — Jesus died for them, too.
He doesn’t just value good people, He values all people. And He calls us to do the same.
Prayer
Dear God, You are the Rescuer and Deliverer of my soul. Through Your Son, You stooped down in order to lift me up. I was dead in my trespasses and sins; my mind was blinded by the enemy to keep me from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ and I was held captive by the snare of the devil to do his will. But Jesus came to overthrow this bondage and to liberate me to be His beloved. You have graciously offered these gifts to all who call upon Your Name and receive the life that is in Christ Jesus. Just as You have accepted and forgiven me, may I also accept and forgive those who have sinned against me. Because You have liberated me from my captivity, may I also seek to be Your agent and ambassador to the people You have placed in my life. Instead of despising those who have done wrong, may I reach out to them in love and mercy.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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