I remember when I was a child how intrigued I was by magnets. My brothers had removed some from something they tore apart and they got passed down to me to play with. In fact, I don’t know of any child that isn’t fascinated with magnets.
Magnetic rocks, or lodestones, as well as manmade magnets have been put to many uses. They are important in generating electricity, in medicine and industry, as well as communications. We are still finding new applications for these powerful tools God created. The unseen magnetic pull continues to amaze children and adults and make one ponder what other invisible forces we have yet to discover.
Magnets also remind us of the strongest magnet of all, Jesus Christ. Before He was crucified, He declared in John 12:32, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” This greatest Teacher was referring to how His body would be raised from the earth after being nailed to His cross. His crucifixion would occur shortly after He made this prophecy.
But what did Jesus mean? How could a dying man generate any magnetism? His foreshadowing statement not only indicated the type of death He would experience, but also the effect it would have on human beings. Few were drawn to Golgotha that day to watch Him die, but billions have been attracted to Him since because of what He did there.
Jesus died an innocent death at the hands of His executioners to fulfill God’s perfect plan of redemption for all humankind. When His sinless blood poured out, it was shed to provide complete forgiveness for every person who would seek it from Him. Our hunger for His love and acceptance draws us to Him.
Deep inside every human heart, our consciences convict us of thoughts and deeds that we know are wrong. We’re all aware of how we have violated the great moral code and how we stand powerless to erase those actions. We desperately search to escape the guilt of our sin even if we don’t call it that.
Some find relief in denial. Over time, it’s possible to sear one’s conscious as with a hot iron. We get to where we can violate God’s laws without a twinge of guilt or shame because we’ve consistently ignored and resisted that convicting voice within. Even so, there is still a haunting knowledge that our soul is not at peace.
Others drown out their guilt with alcohol or drugs only to have it cascade back when sobriety returns. Another strategy that has also been popular is to convince ourselves that what we have done and are doing is not really wrong; that our consciences are falsely tuned and that we must recalibrate them. Many even declare that God was misinformed when He laid out His will for us and that His Word contains serious errors.
No matter what approach we seek to deal with our guilt and shame, they remain until we look to Jesus. His great love demonstrated clearly with His sacrificial death is a giant magnet drawing us to Himself. The free offers of forgiveness and a new beginning, together with a victorious life, are invisible forces even stronger than those of the world’s mightiest magnet.
But we must allow ourselves to be drawn. We’ve all felt the tug as we playfully held magnets apart, and every human being has felt Jesus’ tug of love toward His cross and to Himself. The wisest choice is to resist it no longer and come to Him.
As we find freedom in Jesus, we then need to lift up this Love Magnet for others to be drawn to Him as well. We should lift Him up in our conversations, in our music, in our work, and in our play. As we do, others will be pulled closer to Him. Look for ways to lift Jesus up today!
Blessings, George