“I could use a miracle right now!”
A miracle is a welcome thing. A loved one survives a harrowing accident. A high-risk treatment puts a cancer into remission. Just enough money arrives to cover an overdue payment. A job application is accepted. The prosecution drops the charges.
Many in his generation experienced miracles by Jesus. Water turned to wine. Lepers healed. Thunderstorms quieted. Evil spirits cast out.
Many became convinced that he was more than a mere human being. “You are a prophet!” His disciples declared, “You are the Son of God!” Jesus affirmed that, but then said, “Have I not chosen you and yet one of you is a devil?”
One person’s miracle can be another’s coincidence. Its meaning is as personal as the one hoping for it.
The greatest miracle Jesus performed other than his own resurrection might have been the raising of Lazarus back to life. Because of it, people lined the road into Jerusalem, hailing him as Israel’s promised Messiah. But others decided that he was a threat to the fragile peace and must be eliminated.
A miracle either moves you forward or leaves you behind.
Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, but beyond giving him more years, what difference did it make for him and his sisters Mary and Martha?
Many want a miracle so that life can return to the way it was before. If God will heal my arthritis, then I’ll get back to playing golf, riding horses, or pursuing my career plan. If God would give me the money I need, then I won’t have to sell my television/car/house.
If God would give my daughter a good job, then she can move out and I can go back to paying just my own bills. If God would bring my wife home safe from deployment, then I can stop living like a single parent.
We are often like crawfish — backing into the future while looking forward to the past.
As in Jesus’ day, the primary purpose of a miracle is to show divine compassion toward people. But as always, God has something more in mind for those He loves. Divine miracles can open our hearts and expand our spiritual vision. We can become “believers.”
“Believers” are those who experience something that changes them permanently. They simply cannot live in the old world any more. They find themselves called to believe and act in revolutionary ways (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Sometimes it is someone formerly bound by addiction whose whole world changes as he sees the true beauty of his little girl for the first time. It could be a teenager whose eyes lift from her phone and connect with the needs of a people group in another country.
God does a miracle when, after a career of powerful decision-making, a man retires and finally notices the simple diligence of the hummingbirds his wife has been feeding and enjoying for years.
You know what they say — be careful what you pray for!
Russel Jarvis has lived in Hancock County since 1989 and has served as the lead chaplain at Hancock Regional Hospital since August 2003. This weekly column is written by local clergy members. Send comments to [email protected].
