Faith in Fairy Tales

By Audrey Riojas

“...So the handsome prince took the beautiful girl by the hand, and he led her to his shining castle, far away; and there they lived, happily ever after...”

As little children, many of us loved to live in the dream world of fairy tales. We watched countless cartoon adaptations and listened to bedtime stories of damsels in distress, rescued by handsome princes from vicious monsters and certain death. Begging to hear the stories over and over again, we held our breath until all the loose ends in the story had been tied up, and the characters rode off into the sunset, where a blissful future awaited them.

Inspired by fairy tales, children’s Christmas wish lists featured pink princess gowns and shiny plastic shields and swords, essential elements in the neighborhood reenactment of fantasies. Not frightened by the comparative monotony of real life, little children held high expectations for the future, dreaming of the day they could defeat monstrous dragons, or when a handsome prince would triumphantly come to their rescue.

As we grew older, the fairy tales and fantasies began to lose some of their charm; we understood that these myths could not possibly be true. Still longing for a sense of perfection in our lives, we traded the “little-kid stuff” for dreams of career, family, wealth, and success. Perhaps Prince Charming would not charge in on his noble steed, but a handsome, rich, and otherwise perfect young man would do just as well. Invented beasts and dragons might not need conquering, but the battles of society and environment would be worthwhile, honorable causes.

Unfortunately, these world-view fantasies, realistic and exciting though they may seem, are rarely fulfilled and are sometimes frivolous expectations. Trouble stands in our way, and disappointment blinds all sight of hope, as these efforts for personal gain crumble like dust through our fingertips. We are dragged, kicking and screaming, to the realization that there are no victorious battles or fairy tale princes in this sinful world, and we can only dream of “happily ever afters.”

Despite this feeling of worldly failure clouding our thoughts, as Christians we can know that a “happily ever after” ending does exist and is awaiting us. The battles and trials in this fairy tale have already been worked out for us. The Church, the “damsel in distress,” was held captive by the evil dragon, Satan, chained in fetters of sin. We were rescued by Christ, who with His death and resurrection defeated the deceitful monster down in his terrible, burning pit. In Holy Baptism, the “spell” of sin and death was broken for each one of us; we no longer have to live in fear of the temporary troubles of this world, or in despair of eternal death. In his hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Martin Luther describes this victory we now have over Satan. “This world’s prince [the devil] may still/ Scowl fierce as he will,/ He can harm us none,/ He’s judged; the deed is done;/ One little word can fell him.”

Of course, wanting to feel “grown up” and “mature,” we don’t always trust this promise of a better day. In today’s world, it appears there will never be an end to the pain and suffering that surrounds us. It becomes even more difficult to have hope when our non-Christian friends mock the story of salvation as just another fairy tale—one that could never really be true. We become weary of waiting for the end of a story that we’ve heard about for so long; we don’t seem to have even a tiny glimpse of evidence to prove it will come. We imagine the wait isn’t worth it; perhaps we dare to think we can take our salvation upon ourselves, either by works, or by an attempt to reach heaven sooner by ending our own lives.

Despite these doubts, we have the assurance that our hope of heaven is more than an invented fable. Little children accept the stories they hear because they trust the grown-ups who tell them, and often because they are too inexperienced in the ways of the world to know what truly exists. As children—God’s children—we can believe simply and without doubt that our Savior, the Prince of Peace, has indeed rescued us from the dungeons of death. As Jesus says in John 6:47, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.” Here and now, we already have God’s gift of eternal life, along with His incredible mercy, grace, and forgiveness. We don’t have to wait for heaven to receive these wonderful blessings from God, and it is often that we can see outward evidence of them.

Every time we see a tiny baby marked by God’s name in Holy Baptism, whenever we read or hear the Word of God, as often as we taste the true body and blood of Christ, we are receiving or being reminded of God’s precious gifts. And it gets even better than that. In heaven, we will spend eternity with Christ, where Satan’s claws cannot reach us, and all the loose ends will be tied up. This perfect ending will be even better than “happily ever after.”

Audrey Riojas is a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is a freshman in college at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.