Luke, You're the Prince!

I look forward to supper at my house. It has nothing to do with the food, although my wife can cook quite well. It has to do with the creativity that is unleashed like a group of teenage boys at a all-you-can-eat buffet. We encourage creative storytelling in our home. And our 4-year old, fondly referred to as Jilly-Boo, has taken a liking to spinning her tales.

About a year ago the stories were little more than a listing of characters. The sister became a princess, her brother, Luke, was named the prince, and king and queen were left for mom and dad. After the characters were all listed there was little time left for telling a story. But as the months have gone by we've heard tales of dragons and hobos bested by the efforts of the king and prince.

The stories are great. But the choice of who becomes whom is not always readily accepted by the siblings, especially Luke. He wants to be a knight or a ninja, someone who has a real chance to bring a beat down. So even after he has been cast as the prince, he'll raise his hand at the hopes of becoming someone else in the story. This causes Jilly-Boo to stop mid-casting, turn to her brother and remind him, 'Luke, you're the prince.'

I can't say I blame him. His sister's creativity is somewhat limited to Disney princesses and Dora the Explorer. There's not a whole lot of danger or change in the story. I don't always want to be the king. I want the Academy to know I have flexibility in my acting abilities.

Even in real life I am not always content with my role. I often want to be someone else. I have a hunch I am not alone. We often need to be reminded of who we are. What's more, we need to be told, and re-told, that who we are is a good thing.

The fact is that we are created, with care, by a Master Creator. Better yet, when we put our trust in Him, we are no longer defined by our choices. The Apostle Paul says it well in his second letter to those crazy Corinthians.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).

If you're listening to the same story you've heard before, perhaps you need to be reminded of your real role. You're not leftover and used. You're not a has-been or a never-was. You're not the person the world has tried to pigeon-hole you into being.

You are loved.

You are cheered for.

You are watched and cared for by God.

Insert your name here, for you are the prince. And like any child of the King, you have a happily ever after in store for you.