The story of Sleeping Beauty is a classic princess story. The long-awaited princess is born, the entire kingdom rejoices, and a celebration is held. All except the evil fairy, Maleficent, are invited. Maleficent comes anyway, and she curses the princess for good measure. The princess is raised, but she is eventually cursed despite everyone’s best efforts. She and the castle fall asleep for 100 years. The curse is broken by a young prince who comes into the castle and kisses the princess awake, and then they all live happily ever after.
The princess represents us. Cursed at birth, we fall prey to the "spinning wheels" of this world that make us fall asleep and put us out of touch with reality. We are constantly bombarded with hit after hit. The devil throws curveballs at us even though he was never invited to do so. He pushed his way into our party and made our lives miserable with his curse.
The curse itself could be many things. It could be sin itself. Sin keeps us asleep by keeping us guilty. Guilt and shame keep us from feeling able to accept Christ's free gift. Sin blinds by making us focus on ourselves instead of on God. That only makes us fall faster, harder and more frequently. It is hard to think clearly when our minds are fogged with all the things that we are doing.
The curse could also be a false image of ourselves. The devil whispers things like "You are nothing," "You are not worth loving," "You are not attractive," "There is no room for you," "You will never have friends," and the list could go on. These are lies that we believe about ourselves when we may feel unloved, may feel we don't have friends and may not have a strong sense of identity.
The curse could also be ignorance. Not knowing about the truth and choosing to stay asleep is a big problem. Sometimes we just choose to ignore the truth even though we have heard it. We hold onto the fear of committing to something that could really change us for the better.
The castle and others cursed are the world and everyone else. We are all experiencing different versions of life. We have all been, and some still are, asleep. No one escaped the curse that sin places on each of us at birth. Every person who has ever walked this planet knows pain, suffering and the curse of sin, whether they call it by that name or not.
Lastly, the prince is the Christ figure in this story. Galloping to the castle and finding the sleeping beauty, the prince kisses her awake to be with him for another happily ever after. Christ comes to us and gently knocks on the door of our hearts. You read and watch the story, and it is obvious that the kiss is not the kiss of passionate desire, but it is the kiss of deep, tender, true love that cures the princess of her sleep. Just the same, Jesus is a gentleman. He isn't forcing us to love Him. He tenderly prods us to accept Him and to wake up from our cursed coma.
It takes trust to let Jesus wake us up. It hurts to open eyes that haven't seen the light for a while. It isn't always easy to have faith that God knows what is best, but I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that it is worth letting Him kiss us awake. It is worth letting our guard down so that He can give us new life.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20 ESV).