Rethinking Miracles

I once heard a pastor say that if something can be explained naturally, or scientifically...then it isn't a miracle. Miracles only occur when God supernaturally intervenes in the natural world and does something that can't be explained by anything other than God.

He used childbirth as an example...Many times a person will look at a newborn baby and exclaim, "How beautiful! Isn't she a little miracle?"...This pastor explained, that no, a newborn baby isn't a miracle...because it can be explained scientifically...it is a natural process.

For a while, this definition seemed logical to me. But, lately I've been wondering if my pastor friend may be off. Maybe, just maybe, my pastor friend's definition of a miracle is a little too narrow. Let me explain.

What is the natural state of things? Where was the universe before God came on the scene?

Oh yeah, it wasn't there...But God was.

So, the natural state of things is nothingness...Creation was a miracle. Before God gave order to all things, everything was in a state of chaos...But then God gave all things order. God giving order to things was a miracle. Existence is a miracle. The way things work, is a miracle. Science is a miracle.

I could go on and on with this...but it's late. My point is though, God is at work all around us. Creation as we know it, life as we know it...is a miracle. We are surrounded by miracles every day. The fact that you are alive is a miracle. The fact that I can breathe oxygen into my lungs is a miracle. We ought not take things for granted and try to explain them away with science, or by saying it is simply the natural order of things...

The natural order of things is nothingness...but God broke into the nothingness and brought forth all that we see. The  natural order of things is chaos...but God enters the chaos and brings forth order. The natural order of things is no life...But God exploded onto the scene and brought forth life....

Perhaps the greatest miracle of all is that he still does that with our souls. Apart from God, we are all spiritually lifeless. We are all spiritually dead...But God, he enters the death that we call life and shows us what real life is...he makes us truly alive, so that we can appreciate all of the miracles that we have around us on a daily basis.

The life we now live, as Christians, is anything but natural. The life we now live in Christ is certainly miraculous. This is the first miracle we must take hold of...and from there, our eyes are awakened to every other miracle there is.

I pray that we all might keep our eyes open with eager anticipation for the next miracle to cross our paths...and from there may we look past the miracle and gaze with longing at the one whom makes the miraculous possible.