In STP’s adaptation of the beloved novel, Daddy Long-Legs, we see Jerusha Abbott writing and receiving letters from her anonymous college sponsor. Jerusha has grown up an orphan. Like our spiritual journey with Christ, we were once orphans but can now call God our Father. The Bible says that God chose us to be his adopted sons and daughters according to his will (Eph 1:5). Additionally, we were once under the law as slaves to the law, but when Christ adopted us He established us as Spirit-bearers and heirs to the kingdom (Gal 4:5). Truly, we can resonate with Jerusha and her feelings of orphanhood and aloneness.
Additionally, Daddy Long-Legs plays a significant part in this play. As the figure of God, Long-Legs represents the idea that God is always with us whether we know it or not. Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” We can see in Psalm 145:18-19 that “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”
These two principles of orphanhood (or fatherlessness) and God’s presence despite our awareness creates a beautiful picture of Christ claiming us into His family. As his church, we are adopted into his household as children of His promise (Rom 9:8). We don’t need to embrace a spirit of aloneness because our father is with us and has claimed us.
Daddy Long-Legs premiers May 12-14 and is written by our own Becky Passner and Amy Davis. Come see this allegory where Jerusha Abbott “learns what it is like to receive a gift that she could never repay from someone she has never seen.”