A Magic Bullet

I ripped open the package on Christmas morning, thrilled to see that all my clever hints and reminders had worked. I finally got it: The Magic Bullet.

It's a little blender, really. Supposedly I'll be able to whip up a batch of guacamole in ten seconds or less. I reckon I'll be able to whip up, blend, chop, or puree anything in ten seconds or less. I'm pretty excited about it.

But I have to admit that receiving the Magic Bullet as a Christmas gift symbolized something much deeper than just getting a mini-blender. It represented a new start to me, a fresh beginning.

Particularly when it comes to household gadgets, time management products, or beauty potions, I'm especially tempted to think, "With this gadget, product, potion, I'll be different. This (thing, book, idea, etc.) will produce that kind of change in my life that I'm longing for. This will be the magic bullet."

That's silly to hear when I spell it out. Honestly, what could a blender provide except globs of pureed food and then a dirty kitchen appliance to clean up? But, when I tore open the package on Christmas morn, I was thinking, "Now I'll be organized. Now I'll be creative and inspired. This Magic Bullet is exactly the magic bullet that I need."

With the coming of a new New Year, it's tempting to engage that kind of magical thinking too. I like to believe that with the stroke of midnight, something happens wherein this year will be the year that I lose weight, change that bad habit, or rehabilitate that relationship. But just like so many Magic Bullet gifts we receive, by February, the newness wears off, and we realize that we're still the same person, and the Magic Bullet is really just a blender.

Our longing for change and newness is a good one; it's something that God instills in us sin-sick souls who hunger for righteousness and a life devoted more fully to worship. Newness and redemption are exactly the business that our Lord is in.

But I will be the first to admit that I rarely want to do the unheroic, hard work of simply showing up in my relationship with the Lord and with other people. I want a spiritual magic bullet so I don't have to actually live through the experiences that require, for instance, patience, mercy, or kindness. I'd rather get the righteousness without all the commitment that righteousness requires. I'd rather craft fanciful New Year's resolutions and let them peter out than do the daily, quiet tasks than actually fulfill the resolutions.

Here's a comforting word, though, to this magic bullet dead-end: Our Lord knows our frame. He knows we write New Year's resolutions with a remarkable propensity to break them. He knows our feeble, twisted, often self-deluding ways, and he still loves us. Very much. Like a Father. (Psalm 103:14)

Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, Bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
(Psalm 103:1-5)

The stroke of midnight will never change my crooked little heart, but with my heart open to Jesus, he can. My New Year's resolutions will most likely beach on the shore of good and forgotten intentions by mid-February, but the love and mercy of the Lord is everlasting. My new Magic Bullet will go the way of most things that cannot satisfy the longings of a heart made for God, but God can.

And I long for the redemption that he alone can give. So do you.

So, let's encourage one another daily, as long as it called Today, so that none of us may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13).