“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift” ~ Ephesians 2:8
“As time went on, all the promises of the fairies came true. The Princess grew up so beautiful, modest, kind, and clever that everyone who saw her could not but love her. Now it happened that on the very day when she was fifteen years old, the King and Queen were away from home and the Princess was left quite alone in the castle…”[1]
And so, our Sleeping Beloved travels back to her native Germanic roots (a connection Wilhelm Grimm made as well).[2] However, she has changed drastically since her ancestress Brunhilde was placed in a deep sleep for disobeying an order from the All-Father. This “new” Sleeping Beauty is…well, perfect.
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the post-feminist world, or perhaps it’s because I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. Either way, I’m cynical. Well good for her. She’s the good girl. Everyone loves her. She’s beautiful and modest; kind and clever. I bet she wakes up with perfect hair, too.
As I feel myself becoming just like the thirteenth fairy who bestows the curse, I ask myself: where is this bitterness coming from?
It comes from what dwells behind my perfectly sculpted mask. And deep down I know that what dwells beneath my mask is not nearly good enough to measure up.
If someone saw beneath my mask – beneath all my “good” qualities – what would they think? If they truly saw my heart – with all its flaws – would they love me still?
Our child-like hearts are unsure of the answer. We recognize the brokenness in our world, and so from an early age we learn to work for the love of others. We try to be beautiful, modest, kind, and clever, because those things are pleasing to others…and we tell ourselves we must do these things to earn God’s love, as well.
Now, naturally these are admirable things that are pleasing to God…but we forget one very important fact: Jesus the Messiah completes all of it. He is the most beautiful, the most modest, the most kind, the most clever. What we lack, He gives. Where we fall short, He compensates. We don’t need to work our way into His love. We are saved by grace through faith. It is a gift. And it’s far better than any fairy-gift.
Yet sin has wired us to forget this beautiful truth, and we continue to strive for love. Over time, we develop ways to cope. There are many ways to cope, but all of them require one thing: a mask to hide behind.
As I re-read the list of “gifts” the fairies bestow, I recognize them for what they really are: a beautiful, perfect mask the Princess has to wear. Yes, “everyone” loves the Princess. But do they love her for herself, or for her good deeds? If they truly saw her heart, would they love her still?
Our Princess does not fall into her sleeping death when she pricks her finger. The truth is, she has hidden behind her mask for so long, her heart no longer remembers what it’s like to be awake…
Sources
[1] Brothers Grimm, translated by E.V. Lucas, Lucy Crane, & Marian Edwardes, Grimms’ Fairy Tales, p. 102
[2] Ruth Bottigheimer, Fairy Tales: A New History, p. 38
