Work is harder since the Fall of Man than it was originally designed to be. Here are the rules of work in case you were born so rich that you can’t even spell “labor”:
Gen. 3:17-19 …
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground…
I’d like to be exempt from these rules. Popular theology even backs me up: God loves me, He’s my father; He is the giver of all good things; if I delight in Him, He will give me the “desires of my heart” and “nothing good does he withhold from those whose walk is upright.”
Things should come easier because of all this.
I want Christian magic!
I want it to work in my career and bring me wild and easy success. I want it to change the hearts of people who are mean to me. I want magic to save my distasteful neighbor without having to share the gospel. I want Christian magic to make my marriage better and raise my kids. I want magic to lose weight.
Wisely, God does not always give us what we think is best. He gives us something better than Christian magic. Or more accurately He gives us someone better. He gives us Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. Then no matter how hard work or life gets, we have someone to walk through it with us. That’s more than magic – it’s miraculous.
