Reading Classics: The Light Princess

First of all, I’m just wondering if any of you laughed out loud at this story.

I’ve read it before, but every time, I find myself chuckling even just during the first chapter at the king. "So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it."

I love how light and funny the tone of the opening is. What made you laugh during this story?

  

Digging in:

The princess is light, because she has no gravity holding her down. At first it is funny. The idea of a floating baby being used as the ball in the kids games is a fun one.

And her personality matches the lightness that her body possesses. At first her laughing and pleasantness was a blessing. Especially to the strangers. But as she grew up, her lightness became a problem because she didn't understand the 'gravity' of certain situations. And even her laughter apparently did not contain the type of depth that is necessary.

One moral to the story, seems to be that it is more of a problem never to take anything seriously than it is to have no gravity.

George MacDonald, and C.S. Lewis both taught me be skeptical of a search for happiness as the goal of life.

 “What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” 

—C. S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity

In our world, people celebrate happiness, and even "love" but it seems that the love that they speak of is something shallow and light in the way that the princess is light.

Sometimes people try to take faith and put it in that same sort of box. They act as though we can just have a free-spirited light confidence in "things will all work out in the end."

But without first realizing the gravity of our situation, how could we then see the need for a savior?

And why would that savior have to suffer? If all of our wrongdoing and selfishness were merely harmless, then surely Christ would not have had to suffer.

But if God had "lightly" waved his magic wand at our sin to wash it away—if our forgiveness had not come at a great price—it would not be nearly so valuable.

The Light Princess both realized the depth of love that is present in sacrifice. Though the prince was a bit shallow, his love-filled sacrifice brought out the rightful sorrow that we have when we look upon the cross of Christ. Only ours is not confined to a fairy tale. It is anchored in the real history of all mankind.

Thanks be to God that he had a solution for our sin that is real, and deep, and grounded in truth.

Reflecting:

Sometimes things happen in our life that are heavy. And though we wouldn't wish for them to happen, one of the things that happens is that we look back and see that God was growing us through that trial.

What is a heavy situation that you have faced in your life? And what was one thing that God taught you through that experience?