Pretend the Mythical ‘Genie in the Lamp’ Really Exists
Suppose you stumbled upon an imprisoned genie.
He’s an all-powerful, supernatural being who has to obey you, simply because you used your sleeve to brush some sand off his lamp.
What would you wish for?
Here’s why obeying Jesus is better than finding a genie’s magic lamp.
The Genie’s Magic
In all the stories I’ve read, a genie has a few limitations.
- Three wishes are the usual number granted to the lamp’s human finder.
- No temporary owner of the lamp has ever been given an endless supply of wishes.
- The genie isn’t able to grant eternal life.
- The dead never return to the land of the living.
- The genie also can’t destroy other people’s free will.
- His magic can’t cause a woman to suddenly fall in love.
- Other people can’t be emotionally or mentally enslaved.
Finally, each fairy tale has a genie who is either good or bad. An evil genie spitefully grants the wishes in such a way as to cause their master or mistress emotional pain, physical harm or even death.
But what if the magic lamp contained a good genie? Life would be wonderful—right?
Maybe not.
Contrasting our Mythical Genie against Christ
Let’s compare a genie to our Savior.
1) A genie is a slave, imprisoned forever inside a magic lamp. Condemned to serve fragile, excitable, inferior creatures who will age, wither and die right before his eyes, if he watches them long enough.
In contrast, Jesus has never been a slave. He came freely to earth as a servant. He’s our Good Shepherd, loving and protective of His people. In His eyes, human beings have great value. His entire earthly ministry focused on the needs of hurting and broken people all around Him.
2) A genie can only change our outward circumstances. He can make us rich. Or the ruler of a kingdom. Or provide an endless, tasty feast. But he can’t magically change who we are deep down inside.
Jesus is Christ the life-changer. All His greatest work—salvation, repentance, renewal and redemption—is on a heart level. When we follow the Lord, He changes us inwardly.
I used to be an atheist. When I accepted the Lord as my Savior at age 20, I created a tee shirt which read, “Jesus Made a Believer out of Me.” Today I’m a very different woman and it’s all because of Him.
3) The one who rubs the magic lamp has total control over the genie. He must do what they say. After a few 100 years of granting human wishes, the genie—by experience—probably has a good idea how each wish will turn out,
Yet he grants the wish anyway—with no word of warning. A slave obeys his master. I believe the genie must often feel bored and frustrated, because he’s a supremely powerful being who is never allowed to use his magic to help himself.
Jesus often grants requests for healing or helps us out of a mess, but He’s the Master. Christ can’t be manipulated by tears, guilt, good deeds, pity, threats or blackmail into granting our prayers. A Bible teacher shared that the Lord always answers us in three different ways: “Yes.” “No.” Or “Wait.”
As His sons and daughters, we can ask for anything. But He alone chooses what His answer will be.
The Biggest Difference Between Jesus and a Genie
Humans who find a magic lamp immediately become intensely self-centered, focusing all their excited thinking on what three wishes would give them the most happiness. Christians can become very selfish too, when we pray to our All-Powerful God.
But unlike the genie who’s indifferent to the harm we might do ourselves, we are protected by a Savior who loves us. He understands our heart’s hidden motives. He also sees what we will face in the future. He’s our loving, protective Guide. Full of divine insight, Jesus alone knows how to answer our prayers wisely.
A Final Thought
Think about your earlier prayers. Did you ever pray and have God answer “no,” only to be thankful later?
The lamp’s image came from Pixabay.com.
Resource material:
Here’s an interesting article about where the folklore of the genie originated.
