Miracle-
1: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
2: an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment
To me one of these definitions sounds as if God gives miracles and one sounds as if I (humans) can create my own miracles- can that second one be biblical-do I have that great of power?
So, can having a baby be a miracle? Is it an "extremely unusual" event? I have heard people say they are healed of an addiction because of a miracle (and I don't doubt their sincerity) but that person has to do A LOT of hard work, soul searching, counseling, and continue to deal with the addiction forever. I guess with this one I want to know, if a lot of hard work goes into reaching the desired goal, is it still a miracle? What about a cancer victim- they go through months of grueling chemo and radiation and after all of that the cancer is gone- is it a miracle or modern medicine? Use this one, is it a miracle that I have lost 55 lbs? If you know me, you can testify that I worked hard by increasing my activity levels, changed some things, but haven't really changed my eating patterns drastically. Some people eat only celery for weeks and drink gallons of water and they struggle to lose 10 lbs- what's up with that?! (Believe me ladies, I have been there, done that too).
How are the "grace of God" and "miracles" different or the same?
I have never seen or heard of miracles the way the Bible describes them in Matthew 8.
1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy[a] came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured[b] of his leprosy.
Do we miss out on these because Jesus is not walking on earth with us presently?
Do we miss out on these because Jesus is not walking on earth with us presently?
Is it a miracle if (actual scenario in my home tonight) I am walking around the house praying that I can find Andrew's nuk, so he will go to sleep, and then I find it? The truth is, I didn't find the nuk and that got me to thinking, Jesus please, this is the littlest thing, why can't this be a miracle that I experience- it would bring me great peace. (After that thought/prayer, I continued down the thought process of miracles to lead me to this post). Is the real miracle that Andrew fell asleep without the nuk?- or does God even really deal with strung out moms desperate to find a plastic piece so her child can feed his addiction to sucking on something while he sleeps? I mean really, there are 1000 times more important things to care about.
I would love some input on this, obviously I have many questions about it... Let me clearly say that I am NOT accusing anyone of not experiencing a miracle, in fact I want to hear your stories. I want to get a better understanding of miracles (big and small), because if I have or do experience one, I want to make sure I offer all the glory to the one that deserves it- JESUS!
I would love some input on this, obviously I have many questions about it... Let me clearly say that I am NOT accusing anyone of not experiencing a miracle, in fact I want to hear your stories. I want to get a better understanding of miracles (big and small), because if I have or do experience one, I want to make sure I offer all the glory to the one that deserves it- JESUS!
It doesn't really answer your question, but I immediately thought of this quote.
ReplyDelete"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." --A. Einstein
I don't know if this helps, but I had experience with two friends being healed and I am pretty sure you can call them miracles. Both had confirmed cancer. Both were scheduled for surgery, but had no other medical intervention. Both were prayered over and both of their doctors could not explain medically why when the doctor opened them up during surgery there was no more tumor and autopsys showed no more cancer!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I am talking about John, that's AWESOME! Thanks for sharing! That to me, is a miracle.
ReplyDeleteSteph-
ReplyDeleteI like the dictionary.com definitions better.
1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
3. a wonder; marvel.
I think these are more accurate because I think a miracle doesn't have to be "extremely unusual" to be a miracle. If Jesus made it a common practice to heal lepers would it make it less of a miracle because it wasn't extremely unusual? No! The miracle is God did something only he can do. In terms of our role in miracles (for instance my sobriety) there can no doubt be an element of human effort. For instance, I consider it a miracle that I even DECIDED to get into recovery long before I did any work on my own. Even in your biblical example, notice the leper CAME, KNELT, and ASKED of God before the miracle happened. I'm going on and on...