Photos by Sam Howzit and Ben Gallagher
58
Princess Spotlight:
Belle
by Bailey
Ever since I was a little girl, my favorite Disney princess has been Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” Like Belle, my nose was—and still is— always buried in a book. In fact, I remember wanting to be just like Belle when I was younger.
In case you’ve forgotten the story, a beautiful prince was cursed by an old witch and turned into a beast. In order to break the spell, he must fall in love before the last petal falls off of the rose. Belle’s father is captured by the Beast, and she sacrifices her life outside of the castle so that her father could be freed. Over time, she falls in love with the Beast, and her love changes him into a handsome prince.
I love this Disney fairy tale even more after realizing that it’s an allegory for our relationship with Christ. You see, Jesus Christ is Belle, and the Beast is you and me.
One of my favorite lines from the introduction of the movie is: “As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope…For who could ever learn to love a beast?” Who could ever love us sinners? Thankfully, we don’t need to be in despair because we have hope in God. He sent his Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross to cover our sins so that we could have a relationship with Him and have everlasting life in Heaven with Him. He loved us even before we became Christians. How amazing is that?!
When Belle’s father was captured by the Beast, she offered to take his place for him, knowing it could cost her life. Jesus Christ knew that He would die on a cross for our sins and willingly took our place so that we could be redeemed.
The Beast is physically repulsive, yet Belle still manages to see past his exterior and love him. Not only does he see past our imperfect physical exteriors, Jesus Christ sees past our sin nature—our naturally sinful hearts—and loves us anyway.
Just as Belle’s love transformed the Beast into a new creation, Christ’s love transforms us lowly sinners into new creations; Saints. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV). Just like the Beast couldn’t change himself, we can’t change ourselves to be more Christ-like without His help.
Since Belle represents Christ and our desire as Christians should be to grow more Christ-like, we should want to be like the characters in this Disney fairy tale. Not necessarily be princesses, of course, but to let Christ’s love transform us into new beings. To let Christ’s love be shown through our words and actions. Think about how amazing our world would be if we treated everyone like the love Christ has for us.