Common grace, the Gospel incognito, thinly veiled and disguised, recognizable only to those who seek, persist, and strive to understand, that they might see...
The most epic stories are those that most clearly reflect the True Gospel.
There is an appeal many do not understand; they know only that they were affected deeply,
perhaps expressing it as moved, or stirred, though likely not recognizing it was the Spirit of God nudging their spirit and soul to recognize truth.
The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is one such epic saga that reflects the True Gospel,
as do "The Chronicles of Narnia," and more recently, the "Harry Potter" series.
And so, in this fairy tale, "Snow White," there are many reflections of the gospel.
A kingdom is happy and complete, then evil enters by way of deception.
The king dies,
betrayed by his love, just as Adam chose deception and disobedience when prompted by his love, and death entered the world, "by fairest blood the curse is done."
The king's forces were defeated and fled into exile, living in an occupied country.
The heir to the throne, the only hope for the kingdom was locked in a tower, imprisoned,
just as Jesus, the true heir of all things, forfeited the boundlessness of eternity and limitlessness of deity to take on flesh, to be imprisoned in a body of frailty.
In the tower, Snow was a captive with no escape, just as we are captives to our sin, broken, and enslaved to our fear of death.
The whole of the kingdom was trapped in a living death, alive in body but dead in spirit - no joy, no hope, no peace, only despair.They knew not the way, they were passive, living in defeat, paralyzed by fear and afraid to fight.
We see the witch, evil personified (as the serpent in the garden), preying on the lives of others, especially, but not only, beautiful young women. She steals their life, their vitality, their beauty, their essence, destroying, killing, ...
This is always the way of the thief who comes only to steal, kill and destroy, beginning with deception by which he skulked into the kingdom.
Against this backdrop, in the midst of her captivity, Snow prays,
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name,
Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Prayers for deliverance from [spiritual] bondage are always heard and answered. We did not know the way until Jesus made and showed the way to life.
And so, the fairies come in disguise (as do angels) to show Snow the way of escape, the way out of her prison. The escape is perilous, she is in danger from her adversaries, as well as from nature. If she is captured, all will be lost, evil will win,
hope will die.
As long as there is life, there is hope.
Neither is our escape from sin absolute, a once-for-all event. Jesus' sacrifice and our salvation is a once-for-all event, but our sanctification is a slow, gradual, tedious process on a road rife with pitfalls, just as Snow faced in her flight from the Queen and into the Dark Forest.
But this is a time of preparation for Snow, not a time of mission. Our Lord spent the majority of His earthly existence in preparation for a brief three years of ministry - a ministry which began with a blessing at His baptism. People soon realized He was Life incarnate. So also, Snow was blessed even as the dwarves had begun to realize that life and healing were in her.
She takes on the mission to regain the kingdom, to wrest it from evil's grasp. In the ensuing battle, one of the dwarves demonstrates the meaning of love, sacrificing himself, taking the arrow to protect Snow. There is no greater love than this.
Yet, there is a deception, a seeming betrayal, and life is murdered; Life dies, and with it, hope.
The blind dwarf who is the Seer knows this is wrong, it cannot be, and yet it is.
(True sight is not confined to the eyes; "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.")
Snow is dead; mourned by the remnant that remains of the kingdom. The Huntsman is heartbroken; his wife is dead and now Snow is, too. In his grief, he gently kisses her lifeless form and leaves.
One thing is stronger than death - love. Just as God demonstrated His love in allowing Christ to die for us while we were still sinners, in love, the Father would not allow His Son to remain in death, and brought about His resurrection after three days.
Life returns! Love conquers death with Life. Now Life sets out to defeat the darkness and despair of the witches' slavery. Snow issues the call to die (to self) rather than spend another day in this "living death."
What a powerful phrase! Apart from the life and salvation found in Christ, all exist in a living death.
It takes Snow's call to arms to wrest the remnant from the complacency of security and to realize the battle had long been raging around them, yet they would not choose to fight for the kingdom.
Now, however, they responded to the call and equipped, taking
the battle to the enemy's fortress.
The battle is joined. At first it seems to go in favor of the attackers, but the defenders regroup. Snow goes after the Witch, knowing her secret and that she can only be defeated by fairest blood, by Snow's own blood. Snow did not know if it would cost, but was willing to sacrifice, her own life. In like fashion, the bondage and slavery of sin could only be defeated by, sin could only be atoned with, innocent blood, and only Jesus' blood met that requirement.
The curse was undone by Christ's blood.
Yet it seemed Snow could not possibly defeat the Witch Queen. Then Snow's blood was spilled (only three drops), and the curse was lifted. The Witch Queen was destroyed.
All that had been lost, and even forgotten, was rebirthed. Renewal came.
Life returned to the countryside bringing renewal, restoration, hope and joy.
June 4,10,25, 2012
