WHY MOMMY? WHY DADDY?      #25

Question: What are witches and wizards?

The red double-decker tour buses were lined up on the road approaching Westminster, where Parliament sits and where tourists from around the world stand in line for a tour. Across the street people were lined up waiting to tour the Westminster Abbey where the royal, noble, and famous are buried. This is where the incoming royalty have been crowned since the year, 1066 when William the Conqueror from Normandy was crowned here. 

This ancient part of London was now the place Tom and his father wanted to see. They had come from Canada. In preparing for the trip they had spent money on books and videos, and many hours in reading, watching, and discussion. Tom was full of thoughts he bad gotten from their studies. 

Conversation: "Dad, I am excited!" They climbed the stairs from the underground train station and reached the street level. Tom knew the view would be good, but he didn't know it would be great! Westminster Palace loomed before them in all its gothic majesty. As they quickly crossed the street they saw the clock tower, 'Big Ben', rising to their right. Tom's Dad raised his camera and as he clicked the shutter, the clock began to sound: boom, boom, boom, boom... until it had sounded twelve times. It was high noon in London, and 'Big Ben' was bidding them welcome!

"WOW"! exclaimed Tom. "Did you know it was noon?" Harry jumped a few times and then twirled around. His dad grinned at him.

"Actually son, no, I did not know it. I guess we've just seen a miracle! I think I'll jump myself!"

And he did. 

Tom thought a few moments, then he asked,

"Did God really do that - start us out from the hotel, get us on the train and off again, and to this spot at this exact second?" The boy's father nodded, looking very serious now. They began to walk the crowded sidewalk.

"This is what the Bible calls 'a sign and a wonder'. God does something like this to encourage someone, making their faith in Him stronger. He really has my attention now!"

"But Dad, England is where Harry Potter, the boy wizard is from, isn't it? Could this have something to do with it?"

"The devil would like us to believe something like that, wouldn't he? But no, son, this was a miracle of God. No doubt about it! Witchcraft and wizardry work on the pride and ambition of a person, and the devil's lies pulling that person away from the love and knowledge of God."

"OK. I think I see the difference. Tell me more, please."

"Son, there are real witches and wizards. There are also people who deceive others to get control over them. Either way, it's the devil's business, and if we value our relationship with God and want to spend forever with Him, we'll stay faaaaar away from it.

Sadly, in earlier times in Europe and in Colonial America before the United States was a nation, Christian leaders sometimes were deceived by the devil through fear and what we call self-righteousness. They thought that causing people to be afraid of God and church leaders was the way to get them safely to heaven. Some innocent people were accused of being witches and killed to enforce the rules of the church. 

To tell the truth, they did not have the knowledge of God's great love and power of His Word that we have today. They did not know they could ask God to pray and speak through them for the people they loved. They had a religion that was based more on what you did, or did not do, to gain God's approval. That's called 'works'. The true gospel through the Body and Blood of God's Son, Jesus, is one of grace. Grace means that God gives us salvation as a gift. We can not earn it by what we do. It comes through believing that God is, that He loves us, and that by receiving God's Son as the sacrifice for our sin, we can come back to Father God. That's not an excuse to sin, though."

"So Dad, there's nothing we can do ourselves to make God love and accept us - is that right?"

"You've got it, son." Tom's face lit up with the new understanding.

"And the magic tricks of witches and wizards is like counterfeit money, making people think that they can control things and people?"

"Right again, Tom!" Come on, let's go look at Westminster Abbey now."