Another digression from the series, though related to a couple of the topics therein. Just some handy tips you might find useful. Always the helpful one, aren't I?
How To Tell If It's A Miracle Or Not
Did you ever see something that looked so
amazing that it just
had to be miracle? And I mean a genuine, impossible "in the natural", bona fide, it's-a-God-thing miracle? No other possible explanation but God intervened and made it happen?
Sweet! Most miracles are not so clear cut. Apparently, God sometimes makes people get well after being really sick. And it's kinda gradual, just like when it happens on its own. Well, it can be hard to tell, for both types of miracle, whether it really was God's work or not.
What I'm talking about here is when God deliberately made something happen that would not otherwise have happened. And actually, miracles of that sort may not violate any laws of nature, like recovering from a sickness. Another example was in my previous post, where God "nudges" the boss to give you a promotion.
So, on to the topic at hand. How can you tell? Oh, but first, another digression! Is it actually
important to know whether something was a miracle or not? To some, maybe not. They're content with just assuming that everything good is a miracle, and giving God all the glory, and testifying about it, and so on. I can see some logic to that. Better safe than sorry: if God actually did something for you, you don't want to get Him riled by not being grateful, do you? And if He gets the credit for something that just happened the normal way, it probably wouldn't bother Him to get the credit, even if He didn't deserve it. I suppose.
Now, why is it important to me, to know for sure? I dunno, I guess I just like knowing the truth. Call me crazy, but I don't' think it's good to think God did something that He didn't. In fact, it can be downright dangerous! How? Well, for one thing, it's
possible that someone could become complacent about things. Call me heretical, but I think one can become
overly dependent on God. One could go through life expecting God to "take care" of everything, and lose the ambition to try to make things happen. One may not even try to be qualified for that promotion, if they think God will make it happen for them.
Another danger (and, actually, this applies to the real thing, too, if there is the real thing!) is that people who hear about them may become discouraged when things like that never seem to happen for them.
Very discouraged. Maybe all you can do to help them is explain to them that God knows best. (Or some might think it's helpful to point out some possible reasons, like there's sin in their lives, etc.)
But sure, it would be good to acknowledge the real thing, when it happens. For the same reason I gave above: it's good to know the truth! If God did something for you, it's good to know about it (if possible).
So, if I haven't lost you yet, and you want to keep reading to get my advice on how to tell, good. I hope you are not disappointed.
OK, finally, how can you tell whether something that happens was a miracle or not? Here's my answer:
You
can't!
Sorry, but it's true. It's the same as I've mentioned elsewhere regarding hearing from God. There is no way to be sure that any purported message really came from God. It's not that it's difficult. It is just not possible. (At this point, I know that probably most of my readers disagree strongly, and that's fine. And I hasten to add: this is my opinion! I could be wrong, and I look forward to being corrected, if and when.
)
There are many claimed miracles (and messages from God) that are clearly not. Don't you agree? E.g., whenever a heretic, like a Mormon or a JW, claims a miracle, well, it may be something supernatural (you might say) but it sure wasn't from God!
And you guys aren't shy about judging even some of
your own brethren, when it comes to some of the outrageous things they say God says to them. But the ones who get the messages are 100% convinced that they really were from God. They'd be the first to challenge my assertion above, and say "yes I
can tell it's really from God"! Then they'll explain how they can tell. It's usually something like "I can just feel it", or "I know God's voice". They might throw in "it lines up with The Word". Do these convince you? Was Richard Gazowsky really
commanded to make a blockbuster movie? If you don't think so, trying telling
him that!
Which brings up a question I have for you: if you don't believe someone's claim to have heard from God, how can
you tell? Is the message (like "make a movie" or "colonize a planet") just too weird to be something God would say? Well, that would be your
opinion, and that's fine. But opinions are so.... iffy, ya know? They vary from person to person. Someone else might think colonizing a planet is a perfectly reasonable thing for God to order. (Pastor G's congregation seemed to think so.) And, when it comes down to it, they're right! I mean, God is God, right? He can make a way! Who am I to judge? But there is only one correct answer to the question "did God say that?". And nobody's opinion can change that, and no one's opinion can
determine that answer, either! (And that would include Richard Gazowsky's opinion.)
Back to miracles in general. (Messages from God are a variety of miracle, too, of course.) What about the type of miracle that does seem to violate the laws of nature? Let's look to scripture for help. Look at Aaron. He "proves" to Pharaoh that God is with him by throwing down his rod and turning it into a snake. Wow! Impressive! That
had to be God! There's no
way Pharaoh could argue with that! Oh. Wait. There's a problem. Pharaoh's own magicians can do that, too. Hmm. Their "miracle" is just as impressive as Aaron's. Er, I mean
God's.
Ah! But Aaron's snake devours the magicians' snakes! Now
that's impressive (again)! That
had to be God! There's no
way Pharaoh could argue with that! And, luckily, this amazing feat was not duplicated by those magicians. I mean, it could have gone back and forth for who knows how long! But, since it stopped there, and Aaron was the last man standing, so to speak, we can be absolutely certain that
God was the one behind Aaron's tricks. I mean miracles.
So, can we apply this to today? Well, it's not very often we see duelling miracles, these days. But if we did, I suppose whoever did the
last amazing thing, unanswered, so to speak, must have been the one with God on his side. Or, if it's not a duel, maybe we learn that if something is amazing
enough, then it was God. Or something. I dunno. Maybe
you can tell
me what we should get from the story.
Meanwhile, I'll stick to my opinion: we
can't tell if God did it or not. (Actually, the story of the rods and snakes
supports that opinion, if you really let it sink in. Aaron's rod turns into snake. Not amazing enough, since magicians do the same thing. Aaron's snake eats their snakes. Is it amazing enough now? We're supposed to think so. But why? Who's to say that the magicians could not have duplicated that feat, too, if they went off and practiced for a while?)
OK, but what about the really,
really amazing things that happen? Those things that amaze even the doctors? Things that
nobody could explain away? Well, sure! Maybe God did make them happen. He could have. But maybe it was something else. Maybe there are laws of nature that we don't understand. Or maybe the perceptions were wrong. Or maybe there are other supernatural forces involved. Or maybe someone played a trick -- an illusion (like Pharaoh's magicians). Even those amazing things, no matter
how amazing they are, can't be proven to be literal miracles from God. But, again, maybe it's fine to assume they are, anyway.
Well, as always, I hope this has been interesting, and provided with some food for thought -- if you didn't gag on it somewhere along the way!
And maybe then he thought back to the story of Abraham and Isaac, expecting (hoping) that God would stop him, just like he stopped Abraham.
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