What a lovely fairy-tale! A handsome prince.... turned into a hideous beast by a curse... was loved by a pure-hearted beauty.... and then, the curse was broken.
Screenwriters and film producers often rework such themes of unconditional love and acceptance into their films... recapturing the irony in various ways. I am a sucker for such films. I think, many of us are. Such films make us feel happy and hopeful somehow. They embody grace in action.
And they are a reflection of our deepest desires for grace beyond our greatest failures and inadequacies in life. Doesn't Beauty and the Beast also remind you of an even greater story - a true one, that is? We may or may not recognise the Beast in us - sin and its wages - but we inevitably groan under the curse, from which we long to be free. Evil, death, corruption and suffering perplex us. While we were yet the Beast, Jesus Christ the Beautiful One came to love us. He came to die, so that we could be free from sin's curse. Not only that. Those who believe in Him become the sons and daughters of a Heavenly King. Princes and princesses. Heirs of a promised Kingdom.
Indeed, a tale as old as time. Song as old as rhyme. Beauty and the Beast.
My prayer, in the words of Charles Wesley's hymn:
1 comment:
Great analogy!!
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