So there’s a new ad campaign for Mercy Academy telling girls, “You’re not a princess.” “Prepare for real life.”

I have five daughters and they’ve all, at some point, dressed up as a princess with much delight. My daughters are no rarity. Probably most girls would tell you that when they were little, they dressed up like a princess.

Why?

Because something inside of them wants to.

What is that “something”? Is it coincidence? Culture?

Girls want to be princesses because God created them to be princesses and to be treated like princesses.

I know that especially these days, “real life” seems to be presenting a different narrative, and this college is trying to prepare girls for the world we now find ourselves living in.

But just because women aren’t treated like princesses doesn’t mean that they aren’t, and just because all or most of the men in your life aren’t princes doesn’t mean there aren’t any out there, and just because you’ve never been rescued doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to rescue yourself.

I know this isn’t easy to believe when the “men” in your life act like adult male avatars controlled by little boys.

I know this isn’t easy to believe when so many men believe that women are inferior to men.

I know this isn’t easy to believe when you’re pressured daily to sext pictures to your boyfriend.

I know this isn’t easy to believe when most guys you know watch porn and they expect you to act out what they see.

I know this isn’t easy to believe when adult males have sexually abused 1 out of every 5 of you.

I know this isn’t easy to believe when you’re father left your mother or never told you that you were pretty.

Yes, there’s a reason that a little girl’s desire to be a princess is so universal.

It’s because it’s written into creation.

Right from the beginning in Gen 1-3 we see the first princess, Eve in a beautiful garden with her perfect prince, Adam. Eve was made for him, literally. Shortly after, we see Eve captured in a castle of lies by a cunning, evil, serpent dragon (Rev 12:9), while her prince, Adam, stands idly by.

God the king and father promises to send his son the prince (Is 9:6) to rescue his bride from the dragon (Gen 3:14-15).

Ever since then girls have longed to be rescued and guys have longed to rescue. And God made marriage to display through husband and wife the reality of his promise of a prince who would rescue his bride, the church (Eph 5:22-23).

And that’s exactly what God the father did. He sent his son, the perfect prince to rescue his bride from the dragon, that we might live and reign with him in his kingdom (Col 1:13 NIV). This prince, Jesus, became the King and adopted us into his family making us royal children (Gal 4:4-5) or as we call the sons and daughters of the king: princes and princesses.

Ladies, your princess longing to be rescued by a prince is your longing for God himself. He set up marriage for princess wives to be found (Prov 18:22) by prince husbands to display how the Prince of Peace rescues his bride.

Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not a princess and that you shouldn’t wait for a prince. He set up marriage to bring princes and princesses together to point to the Prince that we eagerly wait for (Heb 9:28).