What’s a Miracle, Really?

Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that’s so bright, his mother calls him sun.

Last year, someone asked this question on their Facebook wall: “Have you ever seen a miracle? If so, what was it?”

Dozens of Christians responded with things like,

“Yes, the day my daughter was born.”

Or

“Every time I watch a sunrise.”

Or

“My wife is a miracle.”

Others said things like,

“My mother had migraine headaches for years. She saw this alternative doctor and now they are gone.”

While those are wonderful things, none of them constitutes a miracle in the biblical sense.

Here’s how I put it in There Must Be More, in the section called “Rethinking the Spirit.”

“A miracle is a divine intervention in the normal order of things. It circumvents natural law.”

Consequently, a stunning sunrise, a breathtaking sunset, the birth of a child, or even an answer to a prayer for a headache to be removed are NOT miracles in the biblical usage.

Of course, God gets credit for all of them, but they aren’t “miracles.”

Examples of miracles would be the instantaneous healing of cerebral palsy, the opening of a fully blind eye, the raising of a dead person whose heart has stopped for a full day, or a human walking on water without the use of props or illusion.

Here’s the Frankie V-street definition of a miracle.

“An event in response to prayer that forces an atheist to say, ‘I cannot explain this!’”

That rules out what MOST Christians call miracles today.

That said, something can be supernatural but not miraculous. The Holy Spirit can do many things (“supernatural”) that do not violate natural laws.

I give credit to the Holy Spirit for many things that aren’t miraculous.

But that’s another discussion.

I’ve delved into some of this further in these two articles:

A Word to My Miracle-Obsessed Friends

A Word to My Miracle-Doubting Friends

I’m sure you have friends who fall into one of those two categories. I know I do.

Or perhaps you fit into one of them yourself.

Also, over on The Insurgence Podcast, my conversation partners and I continue to discuss every reference to the kingdom of God in the Gospels in chronological order.

Our most recent episode (#97) is called “The Twelve Preach the Kingdom with Signs Following.”

We make a number of observations about the current signs and wonders “movement.” Check it out on any podcast app.

Until next Thursday,

fv

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