“As You Wish…”

“Love… twue love is what bwings us togevher today” (Movie quote, Princess Bride; 1987)

Don’t you love that line and the movie, for that matter? One of our pastors’ recently reminded us of how great this movie was and still is. And he is right, “Princess Bride has to be one of the greatest movies ever”! Movies such as this are timeless… reaching out to all generations. Can you believe that this year, Princess Bride will celebrate its 25th Anniversary? I hope they re-release it! But it doesn’t need to be 3D though… the ROUS (rodents of unusual size) would be no more scary with added dimensions.

If you have not seen the movie, you may be thinking the quote above is not so spectacular and out of context, it isn’t. But in context and with so many others sprinkled throughout the story line, they become like today’s unexpected snowflakes swirling… dancing… exciting… drawing us toward the One who lived a life of perfect love, true love.

Wesley, our knight, is introduced as a humble, poor and perfect farm boy who falls in love hopelessly with Buttercup, our heroine. Although she doesn’t quite act as we imagine and in fact, treats Wesley cruelly. Tirelessly, Buttercup orders him around her small and dilapidated farm. His only reply to her menial and cold demands is, “As you wish”. As the story continues, we soon discover that his reply really means, “I love you”. This is love, true love. Wesley demonstrated his love for Buttercup in perfect and true expression by serving in humility and with tender loving kindness regardless of the response.

Is this not what God has done for us? While we were yet sinners, He reached down to us (Romans 5:8). He bent down… stooped from the heights of heaven to earth (Psalms 113: 5-6), even though we did not love Him, He loved us. We treated Him most cruelly, denying His very existence (Psalms 14:1-2). He loved us. He sent Jesus, His Son, God in flesh (John 1:14), the living bread of heaven (John 6: 51), to bring us back to God (Ephesians 2:16).

In our movie, Buttercup does come to love Wesley, but at one point, she believes he has been killed and agrees to marry another, even though she does not love him. But just in the nick of time, Wesley comes back to reclaim his love for her.

Could this be your situation…Has love… God come back to reclaim you. Is God calling out to you? Is He saying, don’t marry another. My love is perfect. My love is pure. I am true love and I am calling to you, “As you wish”.