There's something about a princess.
I know our granddaughters sure think so. They've got princess dolls, princess sheets, princess tiaras - you get the picture. But they're not unusual. So many little girls, from so many generations, have grown up with dreams of being a princess. And what's at the center of Disney World's Fantasyland? Cinderella's Castle, of course.
And again this weekend, much of the world has been enthralled watching a "commoner" become a royal princess. In that sea of people in London, the camera spotted one lady with a sign that simply said, "It should have been me." I smiled - and then I thought, "How many girls, even the ones who are all grown up, wish the princess thing was more than a fantasy?"
Because, sadly, so many women have been treated like anything but a princess. They've been betrayed, used, abused, excluded, diminished - in a word, undervalued. Princess dreams go down in flames when the men around you are less than men. Or when the air-brushed images of beauty in our world make you feel anything but special.
And yet, there are many women who may never wear a crown, but who have discovered how a woman becomes a true princess.
This past week, I was on a live radio call-in show, talking about the Royal Wedding. One lady called in to express what I'd been hearing a lot on the news - her fascination with the wedding of Prince William and Kate (now, more properly, Catherine). What was different, though, was the reason for her fascination. She said, "I love this because I know I'm a princess. Because of Jesus."
She's right. The Bible says, "'I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18). If you're a daughter of the 'Lord Almighty," you're a princess. Because what makes a girl a princess is her relationship with the King.
And the King - of all kings - has made it clear how a person becomes part of His Royal Family. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says, "To all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). I find that amazing. Because God is sinless and holy. We're sinners, guilty of dishonoring and disobeying Him in so many ways. We've disqualified ourselves from being His child.
But Jesus changed all that. God loved us so much that He didn't want to lose us. "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world...as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). And "they...crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). God's Son died for me, for you. There is no greater love story on the planet.
And God says when we open our life to Jesus as our only hope, we get born into His family. A son of the King. A daughter of the King. Because of your personal relationship with the God of the universe.
If One so great loves you, if One so great thought you were worth dying for, it doesn't matter how other people may have treated you. They don't know who you are! You belong to the King. And "princess" isn't a fairy tale anymore.