I like new and shiny things. There is something special about that. And I call it pixie dust. And no, it doesn’t grant the ability to fly. But I picture it as a golden glitter on everything new. The problem is just that it wears off. And with it the special becomes the ordinary. All the excitement leaves, just to be replaced with a sense of boredom.

I got an iPad 2 back in 2011 and I was smitten by it. As much as I tried, I couldn’t put it down. Never had I seen, touched, or possessed anything more wonderful. But I still remember the day when it hit me. This was no magical device. This was nothing but a computer with a touchscreen. I looked at it, thinking, “that is all you can do?” What a disappointment. I mean, I still liked and used it a lot. But all the pixie dust was gone. It came off by spending too much with it.

I think it is normal, that the excitement is fading away. Yet, a farmer 200 years ago was, quite likely, not amazed for weeks every time he saw his new plow. It was a tool after all. Sure, it was not falling apart like the old one. It was still sharp and strong. Useful for the years to come. But a tool none the less. It came with very little pixie dust. Now a days we have a multi-billion dollar industry with just one purpose: adding as much pixie dust as possible. Advertisement does not try to tell us all the actual functions. It does not try to convince us on the basis of logic. It wants to oversell the good feeling. It wants to generate the idea, that I must have that product in order to be truly happy. And the amazing thing is, it works. At least for a while. So much so, that we can get hooked on the sensation. And then we start buying stuff just for the pixie dust.

In our culture it is so dominant, that we look at religion the same way. Sure, salvation is nice for a while. But eventually I get used to it. It becomes normal, ordinary. My sins are forgiven? Good to know. But I learned that years ago. And when the excitement of our new life is gone, we start looking for other things. We might look for the hidden truths (aka gnosis). We might seek power, position, or fame in the church. We might look for answers elsewhere (leaving Christianity behind our adding something to it). And all that, because we haven’t discovered the whole truth yet. Like a Swiss Army knife, there are way more aspects to Jesus than you can immediately see. And each has layers beyond layers. More than you can explore in a lifetime. And all are covered in pixie dust, ready for you to find them. And this is not artificially added, that is the real deal. This does not just make you feel good, it truly heals you. Sometimes it is just not served to us on a platter. We have to work for it like gold diggers. And we will find out, that this pixie dust doesn’t wear off. Jesus is the only one where it actually increases, the more time we spend with Him.