One of my favorite movies when I was a child was Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. I loved the singing and the dancing, the cartoon dragon that was able to run around with the real little boy. I loved the tears and the humor that went along with it. I watched it a few years ago with my son, who once also loved the movie (at eighteen, he isn’t interested in watching singing dragons anymore. I really miss those days!). It’s funny how we notice things in these movies once we reach adulthood that we never picked up on as children. One such thing was the traveling “doctor” who sold the “magic healing potion”
“Drink a bottle and all your aches, pains, fevers and worries will be gone in an instant!”
What a scam! These gullible, un-suspecting citizens crowded right up to the flashy wagon and passed over their hard-earned wages for this miracle drug. By the end of the scene, those people were stumbling around, half-empty bottles under their arms, with care-free smiles on their faces. Those smiles lasted until the next morning when the hangover kicked in and the only thing that would “miraculously cure that morning ill” was another bottle of the “doctor’s magic healing potion.” How quickly the endless cycle of deception and despair begins.
“You will not surely die,” says the serpent. “See, it is good fruit, tastes great, will give you knowledge beyond your wildest dreams. Just one taste. You will be like God, knowing good and evil. What are you waiting for?” When Adam and Eve tasted of the fruit, their eyes were opened and they saw their nakedness. The great con had begun, the endless cycle of deception and despair set in motion.
In his mind, Judas believed that Jesus was to be a revolutionary, the one who would deliver God’s people from the rule of theRoman Empire. When Jesus didn’t rise up with armies to overthrow the oppressors, Judas believed Jesus must be “nudged” into this revolution. Satan entered Judas, and Judas went to the chief priests and captains to betray Him. Jesus, didn’t “fight back” as Judas had believed He would. When Judas realized that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse for betraying an innocent man. The deception drove Judas into despair and then to suicide. He, too, had fallen into the cycle.
From the beginning of time, the human race has been in the cycle. “Just one peek, you can look, just don’t touch.” “It’s only one little pill; what will one little pill hurt.” “Who will ever know, it’s just a little white lie.” “As long as your wife doesn’t find out, you’re in the clear. It’s her fault you’re in this place anyway.” “One bottle, and all the pain will leave. It’s a miracle potion.” “That doesn’t apply to you. You go to church, you’re above that.” “You can’t count on anyone but yourself, no one really cares.” “Why go to God, you’re too far gone for Him to even care.” The deception keeps cycling. We are all caught in the great con.
It’s time to see it for what it is – a con, swindle, lie of cosmic proportions. The devil is referred to in John 8:44 as the “father of lies.” The devil comes to steal, kill and to destroy, and deception is his primary tool in accomplishing his goal – eternal death to all he can con. Whether through making something appear pleasing as he did with Eve, or through convincing us that it is all hopeless as he did with Judas, he seduces mankind into believing many lies. The cycle keeps going. Or, so it seems.
The cycle has actually been broken. 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ was tortured, humiliated, and killed. He allowed himself to be delivered into death. He fought a battle in death for the soul of every person – yours, mine, our neighbors – and defeated the great liar. On the third day, Jesus arose and still lives at the right hand of God the Father. The victory is won, the liar is defeated. The cycle is broken, if we will only believe and accept it.
Don’t listen to the lies. Hear the voice of the Lord, calling out to you. “I love you, my child. I died for you and I now live for you. You don’t have to live in despair anymore. Let me take away the pain, the fear. Let me pick up the broken pieces of your heart and life. Let me carry your burdens. Let me love you as no other. Don’t let yourself be conned anymore. The lies offer only despair and death. I will give you truth and life.”
