The Wand

John 3:16-17

English Standard Version (ESV)

For God So Loved the World

16 “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

My father is a dentist, and when I was young, he used to come home with hilarious stories of the things that Mrs. Brenda, one of his assistants would say.  One day, the topic of the Tooth Fairy came up and Mrs. Brenda went into great detail about how much she would love to have the Tooth Fairy’s wand, and the things she would do with it.  Letting the air out of the tires of people who had been rude to her at the mall, or making annoying people mute for a while,were just a few of the options offered. We were all limp with laughter when dad finished telling us about the conversation.  

A wand. Wouldn’t we all love to have one?  Can you imagine being able to exact anonymous revenge on the people who deserve it? Putin and Kim Jong Un would have some serious zaps coming their way!  How many of us would use our wands for what we would call “divine retribution”.  I’m pretty sure that every time a Duke player took a flop or Krzyzewski dropped a four letter bomb on the court, I’d have to go pretty heavy handed on the zappage!

Aren’t we glad that Jesus didn’t have that same mentality? In John 3:17 we read “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  Jesus had so much and still has so much to “zap” us for, and yet he would rather use his power to focus on forgiveness and not condemnation. 

Is there someone in your life that you need to use your power to forgive and not condemn?  The thing about condemnation is that it takes its toll on those who are dishing it out.  It forces you to look at the worst of people again, and again, and again. That’s a dark place to live. Forgiveness, on the other hand, allows the injured party  freedom to move on from their “hurts” and allows the “guilty” party to move on from the wrong into a new life of redemption.

The wand is a fun idea, but in the end, I wouldn’t really want that kind of power.  I’d rather leave judgment to the one who came to save and not to condemn.

Prayer:  Jesus, the beauty of your forgiveness seems all the more evident in contrast to our natural tendency toward retribution.  Thank you for your grace in the face of our sin. -Amen