The Bible Is Not Magic But It Is Powerful

          ​ It was Wednesday night prior to Baptism. I was giving the baptismal candidates a brief orientation of the process that we use when performing the rite of baptism. A little girl sat among the candidates who looked to be 7 or 8 years old. I never felt comfortable baptizing children at that age because I am not sure that they understand what baptism is about.

​ This little girl’s mother confirmed my suspicion because she did not understand the fundamentals of baptism. She presented me with a necklace and a cross that she wanted me to pray over. As part of the baptismal rite, she informed me that she wanted her daughter to wear the necklace to protect her for the rest of her life.  

          While I do not remember my response to her I do know that I tried to redirect her to God’s Word on this matter. The Bible is not magic. It is more powerful than magic. It is not difficult to see how this young mother could be misled because many preachers preach the Bible as if it is a potion to be sprinkled instead of commands to be obeyed. Many of them would have us sprinkle certain verses on our tenuous situations and — poof! It’s all fixed. It is easier that way. It is easier to use the Bible as a potion to be sprinkled rather than a truth to be obeyed. The Bible is not magic but it is powerful. 
          It is easier to put charms on the necks of our children, send them off to school and hope for the best rather than to do the hard work of training. It is easier to anoint our wallets than to do the work of counting the cost and budgeting. And what about cutting and pasting prayers on social media and sending them back rather than the work of real friendship?

​Friends, the Bible is not magic. It is more powerful than magic. It will work and God’s purposes will be fulfilled if we obey it. I could give you a long list of things to demonstrate this truth but I will only give a few:

1.  Love works! The introduction of unconditional love into any given situation brings Godliness into the scenario and when that happens, God’s purposes are fulfilled because it is in the process of loving that people get loved. It was out of a loving heart that Jesus brought forgiveness at the ugly scene of Calvary and it changed everything.

2.  Forgiveness works! When we forgive, it set us free to move on with a free conscience. Forgiveness unlocks the door and makes reconciliation possible. At Calvary Jesus unlocked the door and made reconciliation with God possible.  Because of it, He invites us to come to Him. (Rev. 22.16&17. It works!

3. Patience works! WOW! Patience provides the time necessary for things to work out. That is why it is called, “long suffering”.

4. Mercy works. It keeps us from wounding people who could use a little help. Plus, it keeps us from wounding our own consciences.

          Finally, notice that in each of the cases that I mentioned above, I used the word, “work”. God’s Word is not magic. It is more powerful than magic. It works!