Last week my family went and saw the much-anticipated movie, Beauty and the Beast. The animated classic was released in 1991, the same year that our first child was born. She was followed by four more, so all our kids enjoyed from their youngest years the "tale as old as time."
When the 2017 adaptation of the fairy tale appeared in theaters, my now 25-year-old daughter and her husband purchased tickets well in advance so that they could see the musical on its opening night. A week later, the rest of our family saw the movie.
It did not disappoint. We enjoyed it immensely.
As we left the theater, I asked my family,
Where do story writers and movie producers come up with themes such as the liberating power of love, the restoration of a human being from his beastly condition, the concept of resurrection, and the yearning for everything that's wrong being made right?
All these themes are found in a tale older than time -- the gospel. This tale is told through the grand narrative of the Scriptures -- "a gospel that is scaled to the glory of God" (Matt Chandler, The Explicit Gospel, p. 172).
The Scriptures teach that the universe was created as a theater of God's glory. Man was the crown of God's creation and made in the image of God himself. Everything was perfect ... until "sin entered into the world, and death through sin" (Rom. 5:12). Can you see how this truth is reflected in the first lines of the movie?
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was selfish, spoiled, and unkind.
Just as the prince's self-absorption and tragic choice had devastating effects both on him (turning him into a beast) and everything around him, so humanity's fall into sin carried tragic consequences on both a personal and cosmic level.
On a personal level, man became alienated from God and no longer resembled God the way he once did. As Calvin says, the image of God is not totally annihilated by the Fall but is frightfully deformed. Hence the prince became the beast.
On a cosmic level, "all creation was subjected to God's curse" (Rom. 8:20 NLT) -- much like the prince's companions, all of whom live in a dark and gloomy castle.
Only through the love of another can the spell be broken. Otherwise, "he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time."
Unlike the Disney movie, the gospel is not a fairy tale but a true tale. It's the Story of a loving God who restores a broken world and reconciles a lost humanity to himself. How? Through the renewing work of Jesus Christ.
"God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him" (1 John 1:9).
"In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor. 5:19).
"And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death" (Rom. 8:2 NLT).
"So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free" (John 8:36 NLT).
“The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. That purpose will not be accomplished until God has ushered in the new earth, until Paradise Lost has become Paradise regained.”
If you would like to know more about the gospel and its eternal significance for you personally, watch the following video.