Today, I heard this blurb for a church Easter program:

Lights, music, special effects, and more than forty cast members demonstrate the message of Jesus Christ.

And I thought, “Huh, Jesus only used mud.”

I am NOT against pageantry. I love a great stage production by Dan White and team. And I had a true religious moment the first time I saw both the curtain and the chandelier rise at Phantom of the Opera. But, I also love that Jesus used ordinary things and ordinary people to demonstrate the greatest story every told.

When He wanted to explain He had come to make all things new, He spit into the dirt, mixed up some mud, and fashioned new eyeballs for a blind man. When He wanted to prove He is God who provides, He divided a puny fish and served up a banquet.

I watched Him do the same thing this week through our friend, whom I’ll call Mick since I didn’t ask his permission yet to tell his story. Mick grew up right here in our neighborhood, and he lived a pretty hard life. Then Jesus got hold of him and fashioned some new eyeballs… and a new heart.

Part of Mick’s job is to drive men from the local treatment center when they need to visit the doctor. He comes at least once a week and sits in our waiting room for an hour or two before all the guys are through.

Almost every time, some other patient from the neighborhood comes in and takes a seat across the room. The patient nods and smiles at Mick before they both pick up their respective magazines. But the patient keeps glancing at Mick over the top of the page.

Eventually, the patient says, “Don’t I know you?”

And Mick says, “Yeah. You used to, but I’m a lot different now.”

Whether the patient is a former drinking buddy of Mick’s or one of the deputies who used to arrest him, they are always amazed at the transformation. Mick doesn’t preach a sermon. He just smiles and chats with his clear eyes and his shining smile.

No lights. No music. No special effects. Just a brand new man made of clay and filled with a miracle.

People get the message.