Believing the Miraculous

Light is fascinating.

I realize that is an understatement. But depending on your background, you may be unaware of how complex light actually is. It can behave like a wave or a particle (look up experiments done on this; strange stuff). It is the speed limit of the universe; nothing can go faster than light. If my understanding is correct, the universe will adjust itself to maintain that speed limit. All very bizarre.

I posted an article earlier in the week from Got Questions about light. I understand many struggle with the idea of light being created before the sun and stars. But a cursory study of light is enough (for my pea brain at least) to realize we don't fully understand it. So, I have no problem with believing it came into existence before any actual light sources.

The truth is, science or not, we shouldn't have any problem believing it because it is what the Bible says.

Recently, my pastor spoke about the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. He mentioned how there are many theories out there about how it might have happened. Sadly, some of those theories diminish its miraculous nature. Theories like changing tides, shallow parts of the sea, and who knows what else. But why can't we take the Bible at its word? More to the point, why can't we take God at His word?

Giant fish, people living into their nine hundreds, global floods, a young earth: these are clearly not meant as metaphors. Yet, these are the kinds of things that so many say are impossible.

The problem is: if these didn't happen, then on what grounds can we trust the Bible?

As alluded to earlier, attempts have been made to diminish these events, to diminish them and make them more plausible. I mean, we want people to believe in God, so why burden them with unlikely stories like a giant fish inhaling a prophet for a few days?

Do we recognize how silly that is?

If God exists, if He is personal, if He is involved in the events of this world, and if He created all that there is, then why would it be hard to believe He could step in and do something supernatural?

And the Bible clearly tells us that He did all these things. The Bible opens by telling us He exists and He created all there is. He was and is involved, not only in the "big" moments in history, but in the lives of individuals as well. And it tells us that He has stepped in and done miraculous things.

This is where the crux of the matter is. You see, the Bible tells us God literally stepped into this world. Jesus, the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took on human flesh and came to this earth to fulfill an eternal purpose. And part of His mission was to die and come back from the dead.

That's quite the miracle.

If all the other miracles are just metaphors or allegory, then why should we believe any different about Christ and what He did?

I hope you see why this is a problem.

Paul tells us that if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then Christians are to be pitied above all other people. Our entire hope in life and death would be based on a lie.

Thankfully, Paul goes on to remind us that Jesus did, in fact, rise from the dead.

So I think the bottom line is simple: do we fall prey to the deception of the enemy who said to Eve, "Did God really say?"

Or do we take God at His word?

When we do, we'll find that there is no discrepancy between science and Scripture. In fact, Scripture helps us understand the science even more clearly. Why? Because it gives us the perspective of the one who made it all.

So, don't be ashamed of the miraculous. This world is an incredible place. There's no reason to think that the God who made it can't do even more incredible things. And for Christians, He did the most incredible thing: He saved us.