The Jesus Machine

I sometimes see Jesus as a slot machine.  If we are truthful, alot of us at one time or another has seen Him as a slot machine.  We pull the arm, hoping we get the highest yielding images all in a row.  And we pull and pull on the arm until the Jesus Machine comes through or until  we feel our luck has run out and the game is over.  We hope and hope and hope that things will be different in life if we just do and say all the right things and if we follow the formulas that we have been given.  If we do all of those things and try to a little harder in life,  when we  come to the slot machine, the Jesus Machine, and pull the arm, our hope is that we  will hit the jackpot.  

 But, it never seems to work.  We pull the arm and watch the images and number sevens past on by and beg and bite our bottom lips in hopes that it would just stop on the right pictures.  Because deep inside, you just want to hit the jackpot.  You want to hit the jackpot of life, of love, of relationships.  You want to hit the jackpot of peace, the jackpot of affirmation, and the jackpot of acceptance.  And we end up walking away from the slot machine, the Jesus Machine disappointed because, all the hard work and trying has left us with empty pockets.  Yet we muster up enough strength to come back and play the machine again- but still end up with the same empty results.

The reality is, is that  there is no formula.  The reality is  that  the formulas that are given are too numerous to follow them all to get it right enough to hit the jackpot of life.  The bottom line is , is that the Jesus Machine lets you lose just enough times so that you can end up crying out for another method of touching His heart so that you can get what you feel you want and need.  The truth is that He gently leads you and guides you into knowing that you don't have to try a bunch of tricks to win his love and approval for you and of you. He leads and he leads and he leads you gently. He allows all of the formulas and tricks to frustrate you so that you hunger for something  more solid, something more substantial. He leads you away from the tricks, away from the formulas, and away from the vision of Him as a slot machine. He sees, although it takes human eyes longer to see, that you do not have to earn what he has already paid for.  He already loves you. He already accepts you.  He did all the work for you.  He paid the price, so you wouldn't have to.