Having slightly disparaged miracles in my last post, I now want to offer a balancing perspective.
Jesus was constantly teaching his disciples to view the world differently. That is, he wanted them to learn to see the world through Him. God is present. How does that change things?
This comes out clearly in the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Jesus sees a large crowd coming up the side of the mountain towards him. Presumably they had been following him around all day. Now, instead of going home for supper, they were coming to him for more. Jesus turns to the closest disciple, who happened to be Philip, and asked him this question: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
John tells us that Jesus was testing Philip with this question. If that was so, then what was the test? John simply tells us that Jesus already knew what he was going to do.
Here’s what I think the test was. Philip, can you see this situation the way I do? Can you consider this situation with me in view? Do you know who I am and what I can do? If so, how does that change the way you evaluate this circumstance? God is present. How does that change things?
Philip’s answer was logical, mathematical, precise, reasonable, and WRONG. He viewed the situation from a human, material, worldly perspective. He viewed it naturally instead of spiritually. He didn’t have the faith or imagination to consider what could transpire with the Creator God standing next to him. Philip failed the test.
If we were honest, most, if not all, of us probably would have failed, too. And maybe we still do.
God is present in our lives and in our churches in the person of the Holy Spirit. So do we consider the everyday situations, as well as the extraordinary circumstances of life, with Jesus in view? Do we have the faith and imagination to dream with expectation about what God could do?
I was visiting an institute of higher learning in another part of the country, where a former member of our Fellowship of Churches taught. In talking with this man, he asked me somewhat lightheartedly, “Are the Brethren still focusing more on what God can’t do rather than on what He can do?” I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. All I know is that it is a tendency for all of us to think like Philip. We say we believe in Jesus, but we encounter the choices and challenges of life without really counting Him in, without really considering what the almighty God who is present could do.
I’m still ambivalent about the effectiveness of miracles in producing real faith (even in this story the miracle doesn’t produce the kind of faith Jesus was looking for). However, I am convinced that those who do confess Christ as Lord need to live each day with a greater expectation of what the Spirit not only can do but wants to do. Jesus wanted to feed the hungry people who had come to him. He wants to do even greater things in and through us, if we will count him in by faith.
How are you viewing your circumstances today? Are you counting God in or not? Use some Spirit-inspired imagination! God is present. How does that change things?
Kip
