The Harry Potter stories are the latest in a long line of fictional tales in which the power of a magic spell is determined by the speaker’s ability to say the right words in the right order—and even with the right accent. If you say the words incorrectly, either nothing happens, or something completely different happens—and it will be either comical or terrifying, depending on what the audience will enjoy most.
Christians sometimes treat scripture like a series of magic spells.
We talk about scripture as though the word order has magical power, forgetting that the translation process shuffles the words like a deck of cards. Not only that, many words cannot be translated and what may have been a single word in Greek or Hebrew may be best rendered as a phrase in English.
My point is, it is the ideas that matter, not some allegiance to exact words in the exact order. And of course, the scripture is NOT a magic spell. The words are a vehicle that connects us to the power of God. We get to know Him by getting to know His word.
Similarly, it is a mistake to think that God regards the Old Testament law as some magic penal code that will decide the fate of those without Christ. God uses the law to EDUCATE us about His high standards and our failure to live up to those standards. That is, the law reveals our need for forgiveness. But following the law will never help us secure forgiveness.
You know who will be forgiven—under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Those who seek God with their whole hearts.
The law is a tool, a measuring stick. It helps us see where our heart is. No one will ever perfectly follow every word—every accent—of the law. But though we fail, God will know if our heart is in the right place. Thank God we do not have to perfectly follow the law! We would ALL fail.
When King Hezekiah re-instituted the Passover after it had not been celebrated for generations, many were not ready to eat the meal, but God saw their hearts:
“They had eaten the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah interceded for them, saying, ‘May the Lord provide atonement on behalf of whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.’ So THE LORD HEARD HEZEKIAH AND HEALED THE PEOPLE” 2 Chronicles 30:18-20.
Rather than being slavishly devoted to obeying the words of the law, as though those words had magical power, may we SET OUR WHOLE HEART ON SEEKING GOD.
God is interested in our hearts.
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