Daily Devotional

The question often arises this time of year: “What has magic to do with Scripture?” The answer is... complicated. On the one hand, I have no objection to the Disney-esque “pixie-dust” magic common in fairy tales and fantasy, like The Chronicles of Narnia. Nor do I think it’s wrong for Christians to enjoy watching (appropriate) illusionists or stage magicians, like those who appear on America’s Got Talent. On the other hand, the Bible has strong words against what it calls “sorcery” (Galatians 5:20, Deuteronomy 18:10-11). Fortune-telling, divination, etc., is forbidden of God’s people in Leviticus 19:26 and 31. Whenever magicians or sorcerers appear in Scripture, they are always in opposition to God and His people (Exodus 8:7, 1 Samuel 28, Acts 13:8-10). I have no desire to wade into the debates of what entertainment constitutes harmless fantasy and what is unbiblical “witchcraft” or “sorcery.” However, I think Scripture is clear that witchcraft, the occult, communication with spirits, any pursuit of supernatural power from a source other than God, is ultimately demonic.

With that in mind, the phrase “gospel magic” might seem a little strange. Those two words don’t really go together... right? But let me tell you a bit about my experience with “gospel magic.”  

I spent five years as a camper and then a counselor at a Christian boys’ leadership training camp in upstate New York called “The Boys JIM Club.” (JIM stands for “Jesus Is Mine.”)  The camp had typical activities like sports and swimming, plus the morning and evening devotions common at most Christian camps. But this camp had a unique focus on “platform material” - equipping boys to share God’s word on a stage. This ranged from memorizing 5-minute sermons and Bible chapters to more unusual forms of presentation:  dramatic monologue, pantomime, juggling routines, and even “gospel magic.”

Gospel magic is ordinary sleight-of-hand illusion tied to a Christian message. A mind-reading illusion becomes a lesson on God’s omniscience. To illustrate the Resurrection, an object representing Jesus disappears and reappears halfway across the stage. My signature trick involved taking three ropes of different lengths and “magically” make them the same length- an illustration of how we might think sins differ in their seriousness, but all sins are equal before God.

It may sound unusual, but I loved gospel magic. I spent weeks learning different tricks and amassed a sizeable collection. Gospel magic, in turn, opened doors for me to share the gospel: I presented at family gatherings, children’s birthday parties, and AWANA events. I even took my show overseas and presented at pastoral training conferences in China, Senegal, and Tanzania.

My gospel magic skills are very rusty at this point (though I still have a tub of all my old tricks in deep storage). But my brief time as a “gospel magician” taught me that even the strangest things can be tools in the service of Jesus. Too often, I think we can be quick to reject things instead of redeem them: “all Disney movies are bad,” “all rock music is bad,” “all magic is bad.” But Paul quoted pagan poets in his speech in Athens (Acts 17:28). He was a master of matching his appeal to his audience, what he called becoming “all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:22). He explains the underlying principle in his letter to Timothy: “nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). I think the number of things that are “neutral,” that some people use for evil but Christians can use for good (like illusion magic!), greatly outnumber the things that are outright sinful. As Christians, we are called to bring everything in submission to the Lordship of Christ. That’s why we have Christian filmmakers, Christian singers, and yes, Christian magicians.

You may not be an illusionist, but you probably have other interests, talents, and hobbies. How can you use those to glorify God and advance the cause of the gospel? I think Campus does this well: our ladies’ craft days, pickleball nights, and GLOW outreach are great examples of “becoming all things to all people.” We have so many tools at our disposal to reach the world for Christ, even ones as strange as “gospel magic.”

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."