2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”
Everyone knows the fairytale story of Cinderella. Poor little orphaned, Cinderella, is left to the mercy of an evil stepmother and two evil stepsisters. In the 2015 Disney remake of the story, Cinderella adheres to her deceased mother’s plea to have courage and be kind. And so Cinderella is kind even in the face of meanness and cruelty. But then the invitation goes out for a royal ball to be held at the palace and the evil stepmother prohibits (or so she thinks!) Cinderella from going. Adhering to the tenets of a good fairytale, Cinderella’s godmother bestows upon her a carriage made from a pumpkin, footmen, a driver, horses to draw the carriage, a beautiful gown with it all culminating in the exquisite final touch —a pair of glass slippers.
When Cinderella dons the glass slippers, they are the final touch that transforms her from a poor, unloved servant girl into a beautiful young lady with whom the prince falls in love. And of course, in true fairy tale fashion—they live happily ever after.
We are each our own Cinderella. We look to find our prince charming and happiness ever after but instead, our prince finds us, and He wants to love us completely and give us the best of everything. The glass slipper the Prince places on Cinderella’s foot can be a metaphor for the mantle of love and grace Christ slips around our shoulders that frees us from our guilt and sin when we confess His name and are baptized. Just as Cinderella is transformed into the Prince’s true love, we are transformed from a sinner into a beloved child of God. How incredibly amazing is that?!
How thankful we should be that God loves us and sees us as His beloved child with the love and grace He so freely and happily bestows on each of us.
Dear God: Thank you for loving us and for your grace. Thank you for transforming us by your love into your child with the hope of living with you in heaven one day. Open our eyes to those around us with which we can share this amazing and happy news. In Christ’s precious name. Amen.
- Lindy Bell
