This post is written by Katie Orr as a companion for Unit 32, Session 5 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 11: From One Nation to All Nations (Spring 2024).
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
This famous line from the 1930s film The Wizard of Oz drums up emerald scenes filled with smoke and velvet curtains. Sweet Dorothy Gale, along with her new friends Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, and Cowardly Lion, traversed a long way searching for help from the famous Wizard of Oz. Tales of his wisdom and power preceded him, and the four travelers, along with Dorothy’s dog, Toto, finally stood before the magnificent muse in the Emerald City. But there was a problem. After all the time spent, distance traveled, and hoops they jumped through to appease him, the Wizard refused to help and tried to scare them away. Outed by tiny little Toto, this “wizard” of Oz was found to be an unremarkable man putting up a facade of glory with smoke and mirrors.
Our God is not a creepy old man hiding behind a curtain, in need of fanfare and amplification to seem majestic and powerful. God is astonishing on His own and requires no augmenting. The glory of God is abundant enough to capture attention. The work of the Holy Spirit is capable of convicting hearts. The power of God’s Word is sufficient to save. Our role is to proclaim the message of the cross and trust God with the results. We don’t need to add anything to the equation.
God in His goodness has ordained that we be part of how He propels the gospel to the ends of the earth. But in our attempts to “help” God, we add proverbial fancy curtains, foggy ambience, and flashy lights to try to make the gospel more appealing. We project our modern understanding onto God’s perfect Word and attempt to explain away the verses that don’t jive with the movements of the culture. Some even go so far as to change the gospel message to make it more palatable. When we try to “fix” things, we present a small god hiding behind a curtain, in need of us humans to help change his insufficient rescue plan. To these people and attempts, may it be said:
Pay no attention to the man outside the curtain.
Pay no attention to the ones who point to themselves more than they do Christ.
Pay no attention to anyone who warps the gospel to fit their narrative.
Pay no attention to the speaker who diverts attention from the glory of the gospel.
Pay no attention to the influencers who tout their opinion more than they proclaim the Word of God.
Instead, fix your eyes on the sufficiency of the cross of Christ, and depend on His power alone to save.
Katie Orr is the author of Secrets of the Happy Soul, seven FOCUSed15 Bible studies, and is the creator of the Bible Study Hub community, where women can receive training, encouragement, and accountability to enjoy God’s Word. Katie holds an MA in Discipleship from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Chris, along with their three children, live in Central Florida.
