Last weekend we witnessed a Cinderella story unfold in real life as Meghan Markle, a woman from the U.S., walked down the aisle with her Prince Charming, Prince Harry of England.
Amid the splendor of Windsor Castle and the flourishes of royal England, with all its tradition, history, and ceremony, a beautiful story came to a glorious climax.
Although no royal blood ran in her veins, a biracial woman from the United States captured the heart of the prince of England. Love reigned supreme in two hearts where neither nationality nor ethnicity, neither culture nor family bloodlines could hold back the love that brought them together.
The pageantry took place in Great Britain, but the larger story of love’s promise unfurled on a worldwide stage before the eyes of millions.
Listening to the pastor’s sermon about the redemptive power of love, I realized we are all living a Cinderella story.
Whether or not we have royal blood, we have bodies of clay. Each of us is born a citizen of earth, common folks with hopes and dreams that sometimes come to pass and sometimes don’t. We struggle to find a path for ourselves. We search for love and happiness. We try to do what is good, but often get in the way of our own efforts to do what is right. We search for heaven, but too often, we find sorrow instead.
But despite the shabbiness of our own mortality, the perfect love of Jesus rescues and redeems us. And against the backdrop of our inadequacies, we witness the power of Love.
Because of Jesus’ incredible love for us, He left behind the glory of heaven to come to us and live with us and die for us. The One who loves us with an everlasting love, takes us by the hand and leads us to the royal throne of heaven where the rags of our own meager righteousness is transformed into the glittering white robe of Jesus’ righteousness through the power of His redemptive love.
And in the power of His love, we become new—we become royalty, we become children of God, the king of the universe.
And one day, we will sit with Him at the wedding feast and live forever in the realms of heavenly splendor as the beloved bride of Christ.
It’s a royal wedding we won’t want to miss.
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,[a] and God himself will be with them;[b] he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelations 21:2-5).
