“IT’S A MIRACLE” (WONDERS)

Have you ever heard someone say, “Will wonders never cease?” I have, and I suspect you have too.

Too often we say something is a miracle rather than a wonder. What is the difference, or is there a difference?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a wonder as, “That which arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration; a marvel.” This is different from the definition of a miracle, which is, “An event that appears unexplainable by the laws of nature.”

Something that is a surprise or astonishes us is very different from something that cannot be explained by the laws of nature. In our quest for an answer to whether or not there are miracles today, we have to understand the difference.

What in your mind constitutes a wonder? Based on our definition, it would be things that cause us to question and marvel at the outcome. We may be surprised, but we can find some answer to why or how something happened.

In the story of the man born blind in John 9, we have the true example of a miracle. The man had never been able to see. Jesus spit on the ground, made some clay, put it on the man’s eyes, and told the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. When the man obeyed, he could see. Have you ever seen that happen today?

Many of us know people with cancer. After treatments and medicine, the doctor may declare that person is in remission, with no signs of cancer. That is a wonder, not a miracle.

We have a lady in our church family that has cancer and has had it for more than 40 years. She has been through treatments several times, and each time she has lived many years more. Is that a miracle? No, but it is a wonder.

For this to be a genuine miracle she would have been made well with no treatment; and it would have been immediate. Why? Because that is the way all the miracles were done in the Bible.

We see this in the miracles Jesus did. The woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9 was healed immediately when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. The ten lepers were healed immediately in Luke 17. Jesus replaced the ear of Malchus when Peter cut it off in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22.

In John 2 we find Jesus, His mother, and some of the disciples at a wedding feast in Cana. The guests were arriving, and there wasn’t sufficient wine to serve to all of the guests. Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Jesus had the servants bring six stone waterpots and fill them with water. They did as He told them, and they began to draw out the contents for the guests. It was no longer water, but it had become wine. That is a miracle!

What kind of things do people think of today as miracles? Some things I have heard people call miracles are: having a child after being told you would never have one, the actual birth of a child, a remission of cancer, a tornado missing your house, winning the lottery.

Based on the definitions of miracles and wonders, none of these things meet the criteria for a miracle. Any of these things we listed can be explained. Some people are constantly looking for a miracle, thinking that something they want to happen so much will be provided. Some people even lose their faith when they don’t get what they want.

When we understand the way God works in our lives, we can better understand the difference between wonders and miracles. We will talk about just how God works in our lives in another study.

Sandra Oliver