Friday, April 4, 2014

Part 2: Miracle is Not Supernatural

If miracles aren't about morality (people going against common human qualities like hoarding and self-preservation) because God isn't directly the source of the miracle (it's about the human need in that case), then it isn't about a supernatural force coming either every so often..  Granted, this is the most common assumption about miracles today: a stage four terminal cancer patient hears the news that the cancer isn't just in remission, it's completely gone; a tornado touches down in a suburban town and decimates the town except for this one particular house; a teenager runs away from home only to return 14 years later willing to rebuild a shattered relationship.  These are wonderful moments in time, but are they miracles?

The easiest answer: it all depends.  God isn't behind acts of violence, like when evangelicals said that God sent a hurricane to New Orleans to disinfect the town of its sin or an earthquake to Haiti because they made a pact with the devil.  As the Bible states, God is not a God of the dead but rather of the living.  The miracle itself, God's direct intervention, is about life.  Healing and new starts are miracles of God, but they don't happen just once in a blue moon when the prayers of the people are all in a line, they happen every day.

Our bodies heal themselves every day from abrasions, viruses, and broken bones.  We're given a new start every day to overcome the sin that has driven us the day before.  We're reminded that no matter what happens to us in these earthly, limited forms, we are forever united with the God of the living, whether here or on the other side.  These are the miracles of how God intervenes every day on our behalf, and not from an outside force but directly to us from the Holy Spirit which is in us, guiding us.  It may seem that some miracles, then, might be bigger than others, but it is often the small miracles that go overlooked, and even more so, all miracles lead back to God.

As the Gospel of John states, the seven "miracles" within its pages are described as signs, ones that point to the glory of God.  May you see signs of God's glory in your own life--every day.

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