Believe in Miracles
by Mary Lou Carney

“It’s a miracle!” Those words are sure to get attention wherever they’re uttered. After all, most of our lives are spent with things happening in predictable ways: summer follows spring; we wake from sleep each morning; birds sing and rabbits hop. We operate within the laws of the universe, knowing that sunsets and sunrises are as inevitable as allergy season.

The Gospels record more than three dozen miracles centered around Jesus, including:

· The virgin birth (Luke 1:26-38)

· Changing water into wine (John 2:1-11)

· Healing many who were sick with various diseases (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 8:43-48)

· Raising the dead (Luke 7:11-17; Luke 8:49-56; John 11:1-44)

· Calming the stormy sea (Matthew 8:23-27)

· Feeding 5,000 men and their families (Matthew 14:16-21)

· Walking on water (John 6:16-21)

· Defeating death with his own resurrection (Matthew 28)

But what about today? Do miracles still exist? Absolutely! Christian people around the world encourage each other with true stories of God’s power to protect and heal.

The biggest miracle of all, though, is one we experience daily: God’s love for every one of us — a love that is undeserved but oh-so-very real. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

Why has God chosen to love and adopt us flawed creatures? It’s a mystery…and a miracle.