The crazies get the miracles!

My first encounter with a miracle was before I was a Christian. After I left school and did my Chemistry degree, one of my favourite pastimes was to debate my mother on matters of faith while she was doing the ironing. I won every debate of course, dazzled her with science. But she’d always say something dumb like, “Well, you don’t know everything, so I’ll take God’s word on it.” So frustrating!

Once I was trying to convince her that God doesn’t listen to prayer. He had more important things to be bothered about. Mum obviously didn’t agree. …nor did the sign I read that was stuck up on her mirror. “Your Father in heaven not only will listen to your prayers, he wants to!” It was typical of Mum. She’d write out little Bible sayings like that and put them on her mirror. I told her off for putting that one up there. She looked dumbfounded. “I’ve never written anything like that.” “Of course, you did Mum! It’s the third one down under the two Bible verses.” *Look of wonder* “I only ever have two of those on my mirror at any one time.” I went back to show her and prove she was an idiot. It wasn’t there!

It wasn’t long afterwards that I stopped running, and discovered that Jesus actually is real! And cares enough to get involved. But I’ve discovered that most Christians don’t experience those kinds of miracles. And it might surprise you why. It’s mostly because their Christianity is so safe, so logical, so sorted out, so predictable… they allow no room for the unexplained.

They’re like the disciples in the boat when Jesus was walking towards them on the water. Only one of them was lunatic enough to get out of the boat and walk on the water towards Jesus. The rest of them stayed in their safe, respectable, predictable worlds. Let me tell you this! If you can accomplish all your dreams by hard work, the right opportunities, enough money and the right contacts – your dreams are way too small! But if you’re going to have dreams that are impossible, you’ve got to have a crazy streak that you’re open to releasing.

There are miracles out there. But only if you’re crazy enough to put your reputation on the line. And only if you’re willing to have your Science Degree graduate son think you’re a half-wit for believing. That was my first miracle. I’ve seen dozens of them now. But only when I’ve been as crazy as my Mum, and simply taken God at his word rather than trying to figure it out.

Mark 11:23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”