Saying Yes! - Week Six : 23 Oct 2019 - The Well

There has been much interest lately in the fairy tale Snow White with two versions hitting the box office recently. However, the two films that couldn’t be more different from one another. One is a quirky family friendly tale: Mirror, Mirror. The other. Snow White and the huntsman, a dark, sinister retelling- definitely not for children!

But the most fascinating is actually the original, Grimm’s, which is both quirky and disturbing.

Grimm’s Snow White begins much like all the retellings with the vain step mother so threatened by her step daughter’s beauty that she must see her eliminated, dead. There is a huntsman who is ordered by the Queen to take Snow White into the forest, kill her and then bring back evidence that she is dead. And of course, the huntsman cannot harm sweet Snow White and so she comes to live with 7 dwarfs.

But this is where Grimm’s tale becomes even more fascinating. Once the vain step mother discovers Snow White is alive she actually attempts to kill Snow White 3 times. The famous apple is the third attempt. The Queen step-mother, disguised as a farmer’s wife, offers Snow the apple and after one bite Snow falls into a state of suspended animation-no sign of life, barely alive. Assuming she is dead, the dwarfs place her in a glass coffin in the forest. From Grimm brothers, climax of the original story-

“Time passes, and a Prince traveling through the land sees Snow White. He strides to her coffin, and enchanted by her beauty, instantly falls in love with her. The Dwarfs succumb to his entreaties to let him have the coffin, and as his servants carry the coffin away, they stumble on some roots. This causes the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. The Prince then declares his love for her, and soon a wedding is planned.”

In Grimm’s tale, Snow’s lifeless body is rescued by the prince. But only after a piece of apple is dislodged from her throat does she come alive and enter into a relationship with the prince- a wedding planned.

By surrendering something deep within her, Snow got more than rescue. Because she got more than a touch, she arose to a whole new life. I was reminded of Grimm’s version of Snow White while studying Mark 5 and the lives of Jairus’ daughter and the bleeding woman..

In these two accounts, intentionally interwoven, we see two individuals whose situations are literally choking the life out of them. As Jesus passes by them, they look to Him for a rescue. They say ‘Yes” to surrendering their life-choking situations to Him. Looking to Jesus’ touch to rescue them.

By coming to Jesus, they were going to get more than a rescue, they were going to be offered a relationship with the living God. But to enter into this relationship, they would have to surrender more than they had planned.

Tim Keller, “Be aware that when you go to Jesus for help, you will both give to and get from him far more than you bargained for.”

This is exactly what we see as we take a deeper look this one account of two life-choking situations.