Monday, January 15, 2007

An Unsaved Princess

  • Posted by Hannah at 5:20 PM
Once upon a time, a girl named Rapunzel was held captive in a tall stone tower. She then lived happily ever after. The end.

Yes, it is a pathetic story. I doubt you will ever find it on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Honestly, who cares about Rapunzel without rescuer? Who would be interested in a Cinderella with no prince to find her glass slipper? No one ever cares about stories involving princesses and frogs, unless of course the frog turns into a prince…now that story has possibilities.

An article from the Seattle Weekly reported that the “Unsaved Princess” syndrome has slipped into real life as well:
“I did a careful reading of the fall issues of the following publications: Cosmo Girl, Jump, Seventeen, and YM (Young and Modern.) The conclusion I came to was this: The boy-crazy American Girl is alive and well. She's never felt better….Girls need boys, boys are the be-all and end-all, and mind-numbing boy craziness is a natural state….Throughout these pages girls engage in the old game of he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not. They moon around about prom night. They crave Prince Charming so deeply it's making them psycho. A headline in Cosmo Girl reads 'No Guys Ever Like Me, So Now What?'"

Even in circles in which dating is not the focus, often unless the ring finger is no longer bare, life has not yet begun. A girl does not live until Prince Charming sweeps her off her feet. But as the clock ticks on, one must wonder if God has something in mind for modern day Rapunzels besides twiddling their thumbs.

Ephesians 5:25-30, 32 lets us in on a secret:

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it....This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church."
Husbands and wives are but echoes of Jesus' love for the Church. As a husband is commanded to love his wife as his own body, Jesus loved us by giving His body over to death for us.

Marriage reflects love. Jesus defined it.

As the modern Rapunzel's thoughts dwell around her coming prince, she may miss the One, True King of her soul. He stands at this moment, beckoning for her to come away with Him. He cares for her with a unconditional, selfless love that no other prince could rival.

Days pass to months, and the clock ticks on. Rapunzel is still in her tower, but she is no longer wasting time. She is falling in love, not with the prince who has yet to save her, but with the King who has already saved her soul. She is living today, not waiting for "someday."

May it be the same for us. As C.H. Spurgeon wrote, "The truest lengthening of life is to live while we live, wasting no time but using every hour for the highest ends. So be it this day."


Sources:
Article. Emily White, "Girls who love boys," Seattle Weekly, August 23, 2000
Spurgeon quote from Faith's Checkbook entry for June 22

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