Greater Than His Miracles

No doubt it has been from the beginning of time that men have marveled over the supernatural - even at the thought of it. Can you imagine the look of wonder upon the faces of those who beheld the hand of Jesus at work? As they witnessed leprosy disappear from before their very eyes, it stupefied them, I’m sure. As the blind were suddenly made to see, and the dumb to speak, most certainly it sent minds into a whirl. In times past I’ve tried to imagine the expression on Peter’s face, when in obeying the words of Jesus, he saw a tremendous miracle unfold. I could see his eyes opened wide while his face became as stone. When able to speak, his words were few. “Depart from me o Lord, for I am a sinful man.” The one who the Lord would choose to lead and feed His sheep was feeling unworthy to even be in His presence. How heaven-sent were the miracles of Jesus; how the people benefited immensely by them; and how many came to believe in Him because of the wonders He performed. Yet in saying all of this, we need to be sure we understand that miracles - they are not His greatest works. He has a greater thing in store for us than signs and wonders; yes, even while we are still bound to life upon the earth. What can it be, you may ask? Simply put, it is that we may come to know Him. Jesus’ sacrifice was not only for the salvation of the human soul, but that in and through the person of Himself, we may come to know the Father.

It can all be likened unto a man who gives his young son a much longed for gift for his birthday. The child is truly elated, thanking his father over and over again for what he has presented him with. But for the most part, the young lad’s thoughts are all about the gift. Though the father is glad that his son will have a grand time with what he has given him, his own mind is on something else. He thinks of the love that he has for the boy while hoping that their relationship will be a close and meaningful one through the years to come.

So it is with us and our heavenly Father. A miracle could be looked at as a gift coming from His hand into our lives. We, like the young boy, may praise Him and thank Him unceasingly for it. But I’d say that more than not we would be swept away by the gift, rather than having in mind what the Father has in mind. Though He would be glad over our gladness, He wouldn’t see the gift being near as important as we do. His thoughts are on another matter - that as we grow we draw ever closer to Him, knowing Him and loving Him increasingly more with the passing of time. We are about what is in His hand, while He is about knowing His own and making Himself known in the perfect bond of love.

Over the centuries men have gazed into the vastness of the night sky. We have pondered the mystique and the immenseness of His universe about us. It has made us feel small, insignificant, and at times even meaningless. But it is we and not the cosmos who are His great creation - rivaled not even by the angels. For who has He made in His own image but us? And it is for man that He has reserved His fondest affections and His deepest love.

Suppose there was a man and a woman who were about to become parents. The time was drawing near and their excitement could hardly be hidden. Daily they worked on the room that would soon belong to their newborn. By now all of the wallpaper was up and a crib and a changing table were in place. Colors were carefully chosen, as was a carpet for the room. All that was still needed was for certain items to be set in place. It was a grand and joyful time for the soon to be parents. Anticipation was growing and it wouldn’t be long until the tiny resident would arrive. How wonderful a thing it would be if it always worked out that way. Let’s say in this case that there were major complications. The baby never made it beyond the hospital. Imagine the grief of the parents. Maybe they would have to let some days pass before they could even look into the room they had prepared. But eventually they’d have to muster up whatever courage they had in order to bring the room back to what it once was. It would make no sense at all to leave it remain in its present state. Why? Because without the little one that the two of them together had procreated, the room no longer had any meaning. It was only their offspring that had meant something to them.

I wonder; if there was no backup plan for the man and the woman when they failed the test in Eden, would God have taken apart the entire universe and done something altogether different? Who knows? Maybe so. But I will say this. In my own mind I am convinced that He created the universe for man and not man for the universe. At the beginning of the epistle to the Hebrews it’s written that the Father has appointed the Son heir of all things. This means that Christ will be heir of a new creation in all its entirety - one that will come into being from the groans and birth pangs of the present creation. That universe and all that is in it will be forever under His feet. But who are the coheirs? It will be those who are of His very body, since, “He has along with the Son freely given us all things.” If then heirs with the Son, could it then be possible that we may explore new worlds forever - and in like manner go on discovering the Triune God?

But maybe we would consider such an existence to be too fantastic for us, or too high a call for what we see ourselves to be. If so, we need to remember that it is none but the faithful who have been formed together to make up the body of the One who is God in the flesh - His eternal partner, a marriage put together by the Father himself. And we must also remember that we are His living creations, alive unto God, and made likened unto Him. Could this be said of the universe? Not at all. It is what He has made in His image that He treasures. And so the universe was made for man - not man for the universe. It’s just as in the case of the baby who would never go on to live. Would his surroundings have mattered anymore to the parents? Though they were put together so carefully and with much thought, they’d mean nothing. And just as with the newborn, we too died in infancy. But for us there would be a backup plan, a second birth, though it being so much greater than the first for all who would believe. And as far as the new creation about us will be concerned - if today we think we can see shades of it when we look into the heavens, then God only knows how we have seen nothing of it yet.

Miracles? Though they’ve blessed us mightily, I highly doubt that they’ll have any place in the world to come. Why? Needs will no longer be a fact of life - and for one reason only. “He has along with the Son freely given us all things.”

-J. Pecoraro