The opportunities for buying a piece of the magic are everywhere. You can chomp a chocolate frog ($10) guzzle a mug of butter beer (price varies between about $2.50 and $10 depending on whether you keep the mug), spew it all up onto a designer t-shirt ($25) while riding the Dragon Challenge roller coaster ride, then start all over again.
There are rides, shops, a restaurant, and live entertainment, all geared toward making the tourist forget the hot and humid Orlando swamp location and transport us to snow-encrusted northern England, where non-magical folk have been given a rare opportunity to tour an exclusive boarding school and environs dedicated to especially gifted students.
It's all very well and good. Loads of fun, in fact, though tweeds and sweaters, robes and scarves seemed a bit incongruous in the stifling heat. But most interesting of all, to me at least, were the places where we could buy our own magic wands (roughly $30). There are about a dozen designs, though in the books each wand is uniquely original and custom-chosen for the wielder. These are mass-produced, cast resin wands, most of which are described as being made of oak, holly, rowan, etc. They come in an exquisitely designed gift box.
Which is where you might as well keep it, since, to my knowledge, no one buying the wands has the magic required to make them work.
A wand without any magic backing it up is just a stick.
That got me to thinking. As Christians, we live in a supernatural world, where we fully expect the power of God through prayer and the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide, heal and comfort, and to work miracles. Like those wands, we are instruments through which the world is changed and transformed. Curses are broken, demons are cast out, people are released from addictions, illnesses are healed and sins are forgiven. Right?
Well, yeah. Most of the time. Okay, some of the time. At least we've HEARD of such things happening, back in "Bible times."
If you are not experiencing the transforming power of God in your life and in the lives of those around you, your religion may be like that expensive stick in a designer box, a magic wand without the the energizing life to back it up. You could easily end up worshiping the object itself, or the box it sits in. Instead of oak, holly or rowan, the sticks could easily be called "Anglican," "Protestant," or "Non-Denominational," and the boxes could have stained glass windows, carved pulpits or stacking chairs and drum sets.
But no life.
That is NOT God's will for us. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. The Holy Spirit lives within us. Are we going to spend our lives on the shelf gathering dust, or are we going to place ourselves in the hands of God and let him use us, to his purpose and glory?
I made my choice a long time ago, and in a real sense, am living and experiencing those "Bible times" today. Here and now. And believe it or not, in Florida!
In a profound sense, I glimpsed God at "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter." And he didn't have a long white beard and half moon spectacles.
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