Illusion. That’s what a magic show is all about. The artist diverts our attention, does something with sleight of hand, and we believe the impossible has happened.
What if it could be real? We actually make the elephant in front of the White House disappear. The rabbit truly materializes inside the hat. The egg, you mean it was really in the magician’s ear? What about that?
God’s magic show is the real deal. Yep. He pulls the door to the mystery box open, and at the wave of his hand, one thing has turned into something completely different.
Let’s break it down to see how it’s done.
First we need to set up the rules for God’s magic trick. We find our basic premise in Romans 6:23:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That gives us our working parameters. If we sin, we die. If we follow God, we get eternal life. God’s magic trick—the real McCoy, this time—is to turn a person from one thing into another, from a sinner into a saint.
Here we go.
Step No. 1 is found in Romans 5:8:
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
This was the easy one. God knew we’d never understand how the magic works, so he did the first step for us. It’s a bit of a shortcut to make it simpler for us.
Step No. 2 is found in 1 John 1:9:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This step is up to us. However, God has laid out the directions very clearly so that we’ll have no problem understanding our part in the magic trick. Confess. That’s all it takes on our part.
Step No. 3 is found in John 5:24:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
This is the reveal, where God opens the mystery box, and out we come, changed, a new creature through Christ’s death on the cross.
The reality of God’s magic show is the same as every magic show in the world. When we see behind the illusion, there’s no illusion at all. There’s truth instead of mystery. Christ’s salvation isn’t illusion. There’s no magic in God’s ability to change us from sinner to saint. Once we understand the steps behind the show, we can begin to teach everyone else what we know.
Let’s lead others to Christ. It’s the only real show in town.
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Code: FGO.H.04.15b.vp.esv