Beach Ball Miracles

 

I’ve been teaching a Philosophy 101 class to my youngest son, David the last few months. Our main textbook has been one that came highly recommended by my friend Thomas Crisp who happens to be a philosophy professor at Biola University.

Last night we came to the chapter about the existence of God. In it, the author, Dr. Tom Morris, shares a little personal story about what happened to him one day on the beach at Lake Michigan with his family.

His little boy, Matt, who was only four years old, was playing with this beach ball. The wind was blowing pretty hard. He warned his son to hang on to it, and about that time the wind blew and whipped it out of his son’s hands and all the way across the lake. They stood and watched it disappear over the horizon together. 

Then his little boy looked up at him with tears in his eyes and said, “Daddy, if we pray then God will bring it back.”

To which he replied, “Well, that’s a thought.” But in his heart he simply said, “Poor kid. He doesn’t understand how the world works.”

He went and laid back down on his beach towel. But his son’s simple statement of faith kept bugging him. Why was it so easy for his son to believe in a miracle? Why was he so cynical?

Eventually, under his breath he said, “Ok, God. Bring his beach ball back.”

Then he laid back down and took a nap. 

About 45 minutes later he heard a boat motor. He stood up. The boat was all alone on the horizon. He suddenly felt an urge to raise his hands over his head in a circle and then point out to sea, where the ball had disappeared. He did that. Twice. The boat bobbed up and down for a while, and then it turned around and sped off.

“Whatever,” he thought, and laid back down on the towel.

On hour later, the sound of the boat returned. He stood up again. The boat was getting closer. He waded out into the cold waters of Lake Michigan. The boat inched closer. Eventually he got close enough to talk to the driver who bent down and stood up with a beach ball and said, “Is this yours?”

“Yes,” he said. Dumbfounded. “Yes, it is.”

After talking with the two guys on the boat for a while he found out that they had started out their day with no intention of going out on the lake, but then they suddenly got the urge. That was exactly the time he had prayed for God to return his son’s ball.

They had driven up to the beach and used their binoculars to see if there were any cute girls on the beach. All they saw was this guy [him] standing up and holding his hands in a circle over his head and pointing. They didn’t know what to make of it but decided to head home. A few miles out they saw the beach ball, pulled it into the boat, and then decided to go back one more time to look for cute girls on the beach.

When they pulled up the second time, there were a few cute girls, right near where Tom and his son were sitting on the beach. As the boat got closer, Tom stood up and started walking over to them. That’s when they thought to themselves, “Hey, maybe he lost his beach ball?”

Armed with the story, Dr. Tom Morris went back to his University and shared these events with his colleagues. 

One of them shook his head in disgust and said, “People are dying of cancer, and being murdered, all over the world. And your son gets his beach ball back?”

Tom looked at the man, and then around the room at the skeptical faces of his fellow philosophy professors and said, “Yes.”

Isn't that the way faith works?

We can't understand it. We can't predict it. But sometimes, out of the clear blue, God amazes us with His compassion, and His power, just to show us what is possible if we will trust Him.

Sometimes, even when our faith is nearly nonexistent, He works a miracle anyway. Other times, His answer is "No", or "Not yet".

The bottom line, I think, is all about trust. 

Either we trust God, or we don't. 

What do you think? 

-kg 

*Taken from the book, "Philosophy For Dummies" by Dr. Tom Morris, p. 233-236

Lilacs by Wendy Giles

My husband has once again encouraged me to write something down.  I put it off for a while, as I am not a writer by nature. Besides, how many posts about flowers does anyone really want to read?  I am very cyclical, so if you've heard me talk abut flowers in the summer before, you probably have a pretty good idea where I am headed, anyway.

Somewhere in the heat of summer I tend to get a little dry and discouraged.  Most things out here tend to scorch and die in August- especially during a drought when we have been called to conserve water.  Add to that conserving gas, conserving electricity, and not having air conditioning, and it begins to feel like my body and soul are a little parched, too.

Let me say up front that I know I am blessed.  I have a wonderful husband, two precious sons, a house to live in, food to eat, and every single one of us is healthy.  So, really, I have nothing to complain about.  God is so good, and so faithful, and I deeply know His love for me, on top of the love of family and friends.

I do at times, though, feel a bit discontented.  I look at a lot of the "stuff" around me that has seen better days more than ten years ago now, and I kind of want something pretty.  I know life has so little to do with stuff, and I don't need anything big, yet I have to admit that I am a "goober" for pretty flowers.  I love to see them bloom and move through their seasons, and digging in the dirt does wonders for me emotionally.

I had a burst of energy that coincided with a couple of days that weren't terribly hot, so I went outside and got to work.  I weeded, deadheaded a few bushes, pruned back a tree that needed some attention, removed the dead plants from my baskets and pots, added more dirt to some things, and then cleaned everything up.  It was a lot of work.

I looked around when I was finished and was sadly disappointed, though.  My work didn't translate into a big, beautiful difference. Brown was still the predominant color.  Each basket only had a little sprig of a plant inside and looked fairly ridiculous.  I knew there was the potential for  new growing things in just a few weeks, but I needed (WANTED) some color right away.  I actually drove to the nursery thinking a would spend a couple of dollars on a six-pack of annuals to brighten things up a bit.  When I got there I was saddened to see that the plants they had also looked like they had been through a pretty difficult summer, so I drove home with nothing.

Now, in the scheme of life, I know that having flowers in my yard is really not that important.  If I didn't even have a yard, and couldn't have another flower my life would still be filled with beauty.  My focus really is, and should be, more on people. However, God knows me.  He gives me so much more than I need. A lot of times He chooses to bless my heart with His quiet "I love yous" in a language that reassures me that He sees me, knows where I'm at, and cares what I am feeling- even when it is about something as insignificant as flowers.  

So guess what?  A couple of days later I happened to glance out of my back window and got a surprise.  There, in the heat of August, was a large spike of lilac blossoms.  It was completely out of season, making it that much sweeter of a gift.  If anyone knows me, they know that I love lilacs.  They have been my favorite ever since a was a little girl, fascinated by them at my grandparents' home.  I was so blessed that God cared so much about my heart that He sent me His own encouraging "I love you."

Almost three weeks late, my lilac blossom is mostly faded.  It held on for a very long time.  And, not surprisingly, little green things are growing in my planters and baskets.  In due season, they will grace me with their flowers.  Even though it is still way too hot for me, I am reassured that fall is coming.  We even have the possibility of a wet winter.  We'll see what the Lord has in store for us in the upcoming seasons, but I will also keep my eyes open for those "out of season" blessings.

Wendy Giles

*Photo: Wendy and her miracle lilac on the day it blossomed.

WHAT GREATER THINGS?

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father."
(John 14:12 ESV)

What does Jesus mean to say here? Maybe you’ve heard someone teach that this verse proves that every believer should be healing the sick, doing miracles on a daily basis and generally out-Jesusing-Jesus on a daily basis. If you haven’t heard this verse used to teach this, you should probably prepare yourself for the inevitability.

Before I get into the scholarship of this verse, let me first go straight to the common sense response to this argument. If Jesus intends to teach here that every believer will "do greater things" than He did (meaning bigger miracles), then either Jesus is a liar, or the Church failed from the very beginning to accomplish this. Of course a third option is that Jesus didn’t mean this at all, but we’ll examine that option in a moment.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that Jesus did mean that He expected His disciples to do greater miracles than He did if they had faith in Him. If that is what He meant, then why don’t we see Peter feeding the One Million? Why don’t we see Paul running across the water? Why don’t we read about James or John flying through the air like Neo? These miracles would be "greater" than the miracles performed by Jesus, but we don’t see any of the early Christians doing greater, bigger, more fantastic miracles than Jesus did. Yes, we do see Paul and Peter healing people on occasion. We do see them casting out demons. We do even see a teleportation through space when Philip disappears after baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, but that's a singular event. Besides, Philip didn’t do that. It was God who transported Him away as the man was coming up out of the water. No one was more surprised by this than Philip, I would imagine.

So, if we don’t see a steady progression of "greater" miracles than Jesus did being performed by the early Christians as normative, we must conclude that either the Apostles didn’t believe in (or "have faith in") Jesus, or that Jesus was mistaken about this ability of disciples to do more powerful miracles than He did. Or – and I think this is what’s really going on – Jesus wasn’t talking about miracles at all.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
The word Jesus uses here for "works" is ergon in the Greek and it is not the same word used for miracles or signs in the Gospel of John. In fact, throughout this Gospel, John does speak of the miracles Jesus does as being "signs" that point to His identity as Messiah. The "works" (ergon) of Jesus include his miracles, but also his teaching, his preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, his compassion for the poor, and his general ministry among the people. Therefore, "signs" are specifically (and only) the working of miracles while "works" is a blending of practical service, teaching, preaching, and working of miracles.

So, Jesus begins by saying that those who "believe" in Him as Messiah (those who place their life into His hands and trust Him completely) will first of all "do the works" that He has been doing. Namely, they will preach the Gospel, they will care for the sick, they will feed the poor, they will serve one another, etc. The gist is that Jesus expects His disciples to follow His example of service and compassion to others. Next, Jesus says that "because I am going to the Father" these works will be "greater".

For example, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised falls on the Disciples, When Peter stands up to preach (something that Jesus did when He was here on Earth) the result was exponentially greater than any other sermon or teaching Jesus ever gave. Over 3,000 people respond, repent, are baptized and begin to follow Jesus that day. This was only the beginning.

In fact, it’s why we have the "Acts of the Apostles" in the scriptures at all – to demonstrate the "greater works" done by the Apostles and the early Christians. Note that these "acts" or "works" are both miraculous and practical. People who were strangers only days earlier are now so filled with love for one another through the Holy Spirit that they are selling property and sharing it with one another. People who are sick are being healed, but those who are destitute are embraced and welcomed into the family of God as well. These are all "greater works".

DO ALL WORK MIRACLES?
When it comes to these "signs and wonders" like healing the sick and raising the dead, I’d like to ask an important question: "Did every single believer and follower of Jesus work miracles like this, or was it only the Apostles?"

Why is this an important question? Because if everyone worked these miracles then maybe Jesus’ statement above really does suggest that all of us should be healing people with our shadows and raising the dead on our lunch breaks. If we’re not living up to our calling as followers of Jesus because we misunderstand this verse, then we need to repent and start living more by faith. However, if the scriptures suggest otherwise, then we also stop using this verse to make people feel like failures for not working greater miracles than Jesus every week.

What does the New Testament say about the working of miracles?

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul is defending his Apostleship to the saints in Corinth. A few self-appointed "Super Apostles" have been slandering Paul’s name in the region and Paul must stand up for his calling as an Apostle to the Church. In verse 12 he says,

"The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works."

Keep in mind that Paul wants to demonstrate to these Corinthians that he is not simply a follower of Jesus, but something more. He is an Apostle of Jesus Christ to the Church. In order to prove to them that he is not an ordinary disciple, he points to three things, "signs and wonders and mighty works".

Now, if every single believer who followed Jesus was capable of healing the sick, raising the dead, and performing "mighty works" like this, then what good would it do for Paul to say, "I can do the same miracles that all of you are doing on a daily basis"? What would that prove to them except that he was a follower of Christ, just as they all were? Obviously, when Paul appeals to these "signs and wonders and mighty works" that he performed among them he is reminding them that these are the "signs of a true apostle" and not signs that he is a Christian.

Therefore, the Apostles were the ones in the New Testament who were filled with the Spirit of God and empowered to do these miraculous signs of healing and raising the dead, not every day ordinary believers. Otherwise, Paul’s appeal to these signs and wonders would mean absolutely nothing to the believers in Corinth as evidence of Paul’s Apostleship.

Now, we do see evidence that Elders in the Body of Christ were empowered by the Holy Spirit to lay hands on the sick and heal them on occasion:

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5:14)

However, not every believer who was prayed for was automatically healed. How do we know this? Because Paul exhorts Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach problems, and because Paul himself suffered a “thorn in the flesh” that God refused to take away from him. Sometimes people were healed in the early church, and sometimes they were not- even when an Apostle prayed for them to be healed. Stephen was stoned to death and no one raised him back to life again. Nor were other saints raised to life again. Clearly, miracles like Jesus performed were infrequent and only widely practiced by the Apostles as signs of their being sent by Jesus to serve the Church. Not every believer worked these kinds of miracles, and not every Apostle successfully worked miracles without fail.

WHAT JESUS SAID
The passage in the Gospel of John where Jesus says that those who have faith in, or "believe in", Him will do the works He has been doing, and will do even greater things than these because the Holy Spirit will come upon them in power, is not a verse about every Christian wielding the anointing of an Apostle. It is not a verse intended to condemn us for not walking on water or healing every sick person we pray for. It is simply a statement about how those who follow Jesus will do the works that He did – to teach, preach, serve, and love as He did – and that by the power of the Holy Spirit we will bear much more fruit than Jesus did in His ministry – although to be fair, all fruit and life in the Church is from Him anyway, so it’s all still the ongoing ministry of Christ in the world today through His Body, the Church.

The verse here in John's Gospel is about discipleship to Christ and obedience to Him. This has nothing to do with miracles. It has to do with an apprenticeship to Jesus, as evidenced in the verses just below this one where Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)

Here's a parallel concept to make it clear: A professional Indy 500 Race Car driver tells you, "If you do what I teach you, and learn what I have to show you, you'll be a better race car driver than I am one day."

Now, you wouldn't expect to just immediately jump in the Indy Car and qualify for the race would you? No, you'd spend the next few years learning from this guy about how to be the best race car driver you could possibly be. It wouldn't happen by magic or by osmosis but because you had faith in this driver and you actually did everything he told you to do.

That's my perspective on what Jesus means in this verse. We become disciples and followers of Jesus by daily serving others in obedience to His example. As we continue in obedience, we will become empowered to bear greater fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Should you expect to do even greater works than Jesus did if you never even attempted to do the basic things that he did while he was here on Earth? That's like someone who doesn't even have a learner's permit or a driver's license thinking they can grab the keys to that Indy Car and end up in the winner’s circle.

Start by doing the works that Jesus did: teach, preach the Gospel, care for the poor, serve others in love, etc. As you obey the Lord by following His example of love, He will fill you with His Holy Spirit and empower you to do even greater things than this.

-kg

Team Angelica

Graduation ceremonies are fascinating to me. They evoke the end of one chapter in life and celebrate past accomplishments, but also look forward to the great unknown - that empty page of life still overflowing with possibility yet unwritten.

It’s a gathering of hundreds of strangers all acknowledging the power of potential and mourning the end of childhood innocence. Together we’re bound by our common emotions of pride, hope, and lingering sadness. Children enter adulthood. Adults fondly remember their own youthful hope and optimism. Friends say goodbye yet still maintain that they will keep in touch and be friends “forever”.

Last night someone summarized the process of graduation as bittersweet and I think that’s certainly an appropriate word.

My wife and I took our boys to attend the high school graduation for Angelica, our “Easter Angel” who showed up on our doorstep on Resurrection Sunday evening and touched our lives deeply. In that brief hour, we discovered a sister in Christ, and a daughter in spirit who was so remarkably loved by God that we couldn’t help but love her as well.

At the graduation last night, we got to meet Angelica’s foster family. It blessed us to know that she is being cared for by such a loving and supportive Christian family. Patrick and Nora are committed to opening their home to girls like Angelica and they have two other girls in their home, as well as an adult son, Duke – all of whom care for Angelica as if she were their own.

We also met Angelica’s mentor, and even her birth mom, and her brother, Salvador. All of whom were there to cheer Angelica on as she did something that no other person in her family had ever done before – Graduate from High School.

After the tearful ceremony, we made our way through the crowd together and we found Angelica in her black cap and gown. She was already being embraced by her friends and her family, but when I saw her and held out my arms to her, she ran into me – nearly knocking me down –and buried her head in my shoulder. Her reaction took me by surprise to say the least. I held her and she cried, and cried, and then she cried some more. Finally I said, “Wendy is here, too. You should let her have some of this” and she turned, saw Wendy, and grabbed her and cried even more – loudly and with complete oblivion to anyone else around her.

But then the tears turned to laughter and we helped her wipe her eyes. Next, we all posed for picture after picture after picture together. Her birth mom kept saying, “Uno mas” and handed her camera to anyone nearby so they could snap just one more picture of Angelica in every possible combination of family members and friends and moms and siblings.

Eventually we looked around and realized that the stadium was empty. We were being asked to move so that the trucks could back up to the gate and workers began to move the folding chairs off the field. So, we hugged each other over and over again, and we made sure to exchange phone numbers with Angelica’s foster parents, vowing to share dinner together as one big family soon.

As our family walked to the car – all alone in the massive, empty parking lot – I reflected on what God had done to us. How He had knit our family into Angelica’s and allowed us to be part of a large network of people who love this girl and support her and care about her so much. We were not the lone saviors of this young woman’s life. We were part of a pattern of various angels sent by God to love and bless and encourage this amazing young woman in her destiny to become someone even more amazing. Someone who will touch and encourage many others in her lifetime.

God’s favor and grace upon Angelica is profound. We are honored to be among the growing number of servants who are helping to shape her life and surround her with an unbroken chain of support.

We’re just happy to be part of Team Angelica.

-kg