Cinderella

My husband and I went to Disney World in March 2008. We flew to Orlando for a nephew's wedding and then joined our son's family for two days at Disney World.

We arrived the first day and went straight to Cinderella's castle. In the courtyard we encountered the step-mother, two step-sisters and then Cinderella. Each one signed autographs and spoke with the children who came up to them.

My two little granddaughters were enthralled. They gazed at Cinderella, and I don't know exactly what they were thinking but I can imagine! One of their all-time favorite stories is the Disney story of Cinderella with its beautiful pictures. It's the same book I read to their daddy and uncle so it's well loved!

A few weeks ago at Joni Camp I heard a beautiful Cinderella story. Max Lucado tells this story in his book, A Gentle Thunder.

My friend Kenny took his family to Disney World. He and his family were inside Cinderella's castle. It was packed with kids and parents. Suddenly all the children rushed to one side. Had it been a boat, the castle would have tipped over.

Cinderella had entered. Cinderella. The pristine princess. Kenny said she was perfectly typecast. A gorgeous young girl with each hair in place, flawless skin, and a beaming smile. She stood waist-deep in a garden of kids, each wanting to touch and be touched.

For some reason Kenny turned and looked toward the other side of the castle. It was now vacant except for a boy maybe seven or eight years old. His age was hard to determine because of the disfigurement of his body. Dwarfed in height, face deformed, he stood watching quietly and wistfully, holding the hand of an older brother.

Don't you know what he wanted? He wanted to be with the children. He longed to be in the middle of the kids reaching for Cinderella, calling her name. But can't you feel his fear, fear of yet another rejection? Fear of being taunted again, mocked again?

Don't you wish Cinderella would go to him? Guess what? She did!

She noticed the little boy. She immediately began walking in his direction. Politely but firmly inching through the crowd of children, she finally broke free. She walked quickly across the floor, knelt at eye level with the stunned little boy, and placed a kiss on his face.

Isn't that a totally awesome story? God tells us a similar but much better story on the pages of my Bible. The names in God's story are different, but the story sounds a lot like an echo of this Cinderella story.

On the day Jesus died on His cross, Jesus - the Prince of Peace - encountered a guilty thief beside Him on another cross. Like the boy in the castle, the thief yearned to be part of God's forever family. In fact, he was the first person to enter God's forever family after the cross.

Cinderella bestowed the gift of her attention and a kiss on the twisted face of the little boy. Jesus did even more for the thief. Both gave a gift - Jesus and Cinderella. Both shared love with an outcast. For both the boy and the thief, each was accepted by the beautiful one.

But the gift Jesus gave was far more valuable than Cinderella's. When she walked away from the boy, she took her beauty with her leaving the boy still twisted and deformed. What Jesus did was to give the thief the ultimate make-over forever.

He took our suffering on Him and felt our pain for us. ... He was wounded for the wrong we did; He was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to Him, and we are healed because of His wounds." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Remember:

Jesus gave the thief more than a kiss. And Jesus offers you and me much more than a kiss. He gave His life to take your and my punishment. It was a terrible trade for Him - a life-saving one for us. He traded His righteousness for all our sin!

Jesus did much more than pay the thief a visit. He paid the price the thief should have paid because of his sins. He wants to do the same for you and me!

Jesus took more than a minute or two with the thief. He takes more than a minute with you and me. He took away my (and the thief's) guilt and sin and brought both the thief and me into God's forever family forever!

It's awesome and amazing!

At A Restoration Church, we are reaching out to all the lonely, twisted little boys standing against the wall all alone and offering each one the love of Jesus! It's an awesome, exciting opportunity!

Disabled Dumped By Police

Sometimes the news is more amazing than a fairy story! We expect villains to appear in Snow White (the wicked Queen) or Cinderella (the evil stepmother and her two daughters).

But we hardly imagine a story like the one currently on the news: "Quadriplegic Dumped By Police." It's also interesting that this story only came to light (even though there were at least four deputies present when the incident occurred) after the media ran a tape of the incident. That is also amazing! I don't think I'd be dumping a paralyzed man out of his wheelchair in a room where I knew the incident was being taped. Especially when the supposed reason was that the man was saying stuff that "was silly." Well, it so, it got more silly or worse before the incident was over.

It all started because 14-year quadriplegic Brian Sterner was cited for blocking an intersection in his mini-Cooper fitted with hand controls. Then he was taken to county jail for processing. Well, so far, it's pretty silly! Then, in full view of a camera, Sterner is dumped out of the wheelchair onto the floor and frisked. Amazing!

But this whole incident speaks to the difficulty the disabled have being assimilated into society - being accepted. They are different. They deal with many challenges, but many disabled people function incredibly well in overcoming their disabilities.

Recently I met a man named Frank. Frank lives in a wheelchair when he's not in bed. Frank has a terminal neurological disease. He cannot walk. He has great difficulty talking. He can hardly even scratch his nose if it itches because he has lost so much control and coordination. Frank needs help to do almost everything.

Inside Frank's broken body is a mind and a heart that function very well. Frank recently received a master's degree. Frank's body disguises the man inside who has a mind that works quite well, even better than most. But to discover Frank's mind and heart takes effort. It is hard to even understand his words.

There is a sense in which most people treat the disabled like Frank and Brian either actually or symbolically like those sheriff's deputies in Tampa treated Brian. We see the disabled as people to "dump." What a tragedy!

There are many disabled people who have a great deal to contribute in the world and in the church if you and I only take the time to get past the brokenness! That's one reason there's a new church forming in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - a Restoration Church. We want to intentionally tap into the disabled community both for ministry to them and for them to minister to us! In that process God is writing many restoration stories!