The Real Thing

“This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.’ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic…Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” Acts 8:10-13.

There was a man in the New Testament simply known as Simon the Sorcerer who was described and proclaimed to be someone great in Samaria because of his sorcery. Everyone followed his practice and even deemed him the Great Power of those days. In their mind he was the real thing. It wasn’t until something came along that challenged and contradicted that thinking that exposed him for the fraud he was. The Bible states that even Simon was astonished and believed. Simon knew what to look for among the smoke and mirrors but had to admit the authenticity and truth of these miracles. Simon knew that he was a fraud because he knew all of the tricks. Trickery is more or less taking command of someone’s mind leading them to certain deductions about a situation.

I have always been both amused and amazed at how Coca Cola has reinvented itself without making changes to its formula. The only change that has been made has been the marketing of the product that the world had come to know and love through its many can designs. They recently introduced the new Coke as the “New Old Coke” identifying it still as “The Real Thing”. They are smarter than most as they have chosen to not mess with the formula but to build on the reputation of the past.

In a world that is built on smoke and mirrors as things command our minds it is tough to stay focused and committed to the “Real Thing”, Jesus Christ as our authentic Worker of Wonders. He is the only one on which to base our hope, our trust and our focus.

People are continuously trying to “market” Christ as different things, but at the end of the day He is what He was and will always be – the Real Thing.