March 7, 2011 Not Just a Cinderella Story

When Don Richardson and his family joined the Sawi tribe in what was then Dutch New Guinea, he tried sharing the gospel with them. He soon discovered that in their culture, Judas was considered the hero, not Jesus. As the Richardsons prayed for ways to communicate God’s truth in the face of such cultural bias, they came upon the tradition of the peace child.

From Wikipedia:

“Three tribal villages were in constant battle at this time. The Richardsons were considering leaving the area, so to keep them there, the Sawi people in the embattled villages came together and decided that they would make peace with their hated enemies. Ceremonies commenced that saw young children being exchanged between opposing villages. One man in particular ran toward his enemy's camp and literally gave his son to his hated foe. Observing this, Richardson wrote: ‘if a man would actually give his own son to his enemies, that man could be trusted!’ From this rare picture came the analogy of God's sacrifice of his own Son. The Sawi began to understand the teaching of the incarnation of Christ in the Gospel after Richardson explained God to them in this way.”

Richardson wrote “Peace Child” in the 70s, but recently came out with an updated version. He also wrote “Eternity in their Hearts” which also deals with the redemptive analogies, as he calls them, found throughout the world that tell a type of salvation story. Jesus used stories to teach truth. C.S. Lewis used fantasy and mythology to teach truth. Missionaries do well to find ways within a culture to point out eternal truth as well, by studying the stories that already exist there, that are well-known to the people.

What about in our culture? We are such a multi-cultural society today. Is there a redemptive analogy in America that transcends our differences? I think so, but you may think it’s a little silly. Silly in a Disney sort of way.

As a teenager, I spent a fair amount of time at the mountain cabin of my pastor and his wife, joining them for family vacations or as part of a larger group such a as a church retreat. One day, I was washing dishes alone in the open kitchen area as another visiting minister walked past. “Cinderellen!” he said with a smile.

The story of Cinderella didn’t start with Disney, however. In fact, there are over 350 versions of the story dating back as far as ancient Greece and Rome. Wherever the story takes place, however, in Germany with the Brothers Grimm (and it was grim, too, with birds pecking out the stepsisters’ eyes!) or in China, there is a young girl, beautiful but mistreated and abused who is rescued. There is an element of “happily ever after” which our own culture has latched onto so tightly.

But think about the marriage feast of the Lamb the Bible teaches. The New Jerusalem, the Bride without spot or blemish. Believers together forming the Body of Christ, the Bride of which Jesus Christ is the Head. Are we not toiling upon the earth today, sullied by sin, abused by enemies spiritual and physical until the truth of God’s love for us breaks through the sad, sad story?

The Father (King) sends the Son (prince) to find a bride (Cinderella) and bring her back, in time, to heaven (palace). The Holy Spirit isn’t given to exclamations of bibbidybobbidyboo but serves as the counterpart to the fairy godmother (in some stories, the spirit of the young girl’s dead mother helps her).

If that sounds blasphemous, lighten up! To me, it is only additional evidence of God’s purposes and plans, dropping folk tales and traditions throughout history and all over the earth so that eventually, someone will have a lightbulb moment and snap his fingers and say, “Oh! That’s what it was really about!” He will go to any and all means (obviously, or Jesus would not have had to die on the Cross) to win us back to himself.

I mean, if the shoe fits…