The Evil Queen and the Prince

However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. ~ Romans 4:5 (NIV)

I admit it, I really like fantasy stories. It all began with Narnia, then Lord of the Rings, and the Disney princess fairy tales. That’s all to explain why I also watched the TV series “Once Upon a Time." One of the themes in the story revolves around the Evil Queen who tries to kill Snow White. When finally confronted with her evil, she decides to change, and much of the series follows her change from wicked to good. But that’s not exactly how it works in real life, is it? Deciding to become a nicer person might be possible but transforming yourself from an evil person into a holy, righteous person is a fairytale.

The good news is that the story of humanity has a Hero. Of course, I’m talking about Jesus, the greatest of all princes, who enters our story disguised as one of us. He takes on the serpent to save the ones He loves, and then He rises again, slaying death and rescuing us for all eternity. It's the best true fairy tale ever!

What I love about this true story is that God doesn’t call us to be a perfect princess before He comes to save us. In fact, He knows that we’re actually the Evil Queen, people who don’t deserve His love or compassion. That is why I’ve been pondering this verse from Romans 4:5, which talks about God “who justifies the wicked” (NIV 1986). I love that phrase “justifies the wicked.” It’s not “God who justifies the pretty good” or the “sometimes obedient” or the “decent people who try hard.” No, it’s “the wicked.” That’s who we are, or at least we were.

Here's the good news one chapter later in Romans 5:6, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” That Greek word for “ungodly” is the same word in 4:5 that the NIV 1986 translates “wicked.” That’s us, too! We are the ungodly wicked, and this is our only hope. When we were powerless to live in righteousness before our holy God, “Christ died for the ungodly.”

And now we are free to live as saints and princesses who belong to God all because of Jesus! He did all the work; He alone saved us. He alone can clothe us in the robe of His righteousness. My friends, the wicked have been made saints. The ungodly have become the godly. We are free and loved, forgiven and righteous. And one day, in Heaven, we will get our happily-ever-after. But for now, may we let this amazing truth significantly improve our Monday morning!

(Just an FYI: Even though I watched much of Once Upon a Time, I don't know that I'd recommend it, especially the later seasons where they stretched things out far longer than they should have.)