  I love being fascinated,
don’t you? When I
was about 16, I paid fifty
cents to see "Marvel the
Magician” at our local
county fair, and was thoroughly
intrigued and
mystified by his power to
magically produce some
things out of nothing and
to make other things disappear.
It sure looked
like magic and was definitely
exciting, but
believing that such power
actually existed was challenging
and confusing.
After all, if "Marvel”
could really pull a rabbit
out of a totally empty top
hat, couldn’t he just as
easily pull out a handful
of $100 bills? You’d think
that would be a lot easier
than magically concocting
something all hairy
and wiggly like a rabbit.
If he could pull some
hard cash out of that hat,
he wouldn’t have to be
working at the county
fair.
Since the supernatural
isn’t, well …,
"natural”, our tendency
is to reject it, so we spent
the rest of the evening
proposing theories about
how the tricks might
have really worked. That
was a lot easier than dealing
with the implications
associated with granting
it authenticity. If things
aren’t reasonably explicable
within the framework
of our comfortably familiar
"cause-effect” process,
it’s just too disturbing.
In the early days
of their ministry, Peter
and John experienced one
of those events with no
natural explanation, and
the challenges attendant
with it continue to confront
us today. They
encountered a physically disabled beggar and as
they approached he
asked for money. Peter
responded, "Silver and
gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give
you: In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, rise
up and walk." (Acts 3:6
NKJV). Well, the man
did more than that. He
leaped up and down on
his formerly immobile
legs and ran around
praising God. The event
went as "viral” as things
could go in those days,
and a furor erupted.
Peter explained
that the power that
restored the disabled
beggar did not originate
with them. The simple
truth was that it was
Jesus, and he explained it
this way: "Faith in His
name, has made this man
strong … Yes, the faith
which comes through
Him has given him this
perfect soundness in the
presence of you all.”
(Acts 3:16 NKJV)
The tumult following
the event and
Peter’s impromptu sermon
resulted in both men
being thrown into jail for
the night. The religious
leaders assembled the
next day demanding to
know the cause behind
the supernatural effect,
and Peter’s courageous
response prompted this
reaction:
"Now when they
saw the boldness of Peter
and John, and perceived
that they were uneducated
and untrained men,
they marveled. And they
realized that they had
been with Jesus. And seeing
the man who had
been healed standing
with them, they could
say nothing against it …
"For, indeed, that a
notable miracle has been
done through them is evident
to all who dwell in
Jerusalem, and we cannot
deny it.” (Acts 4:13-16
NKJV)
The religious
magistrates were stymied
by Peter and John and
"marveled”. They could
find nothing in these
ignorant, untrained,
social and political outcasts
that contributed to
their ability to do what
they did. The only conclusion
left for the interrogators
was that these
men had been in contact
with the only human
they had ever seen with
such power. Maybe we
should learn from them.
Like Peter and
John, we’re confronted
every day by people begging
for things that can’t
fix the brokenness in their
lives, and things that can
only prolong their hopelessness.
And like them,
we don’t have what the
beggars are asking for,
anyway. What if we focused
instead on the one
priceless thing we do have
to give away—our faith in
the One who can do what
we cannot?
The material
abundance that so many
are begging for is as impotent
to lift us from our
moral paralysis as the
lame man’s legs were to
hold him up. We desperately
need something
more, something undeniably
supernatural, and
this much is certain. It
won’t be the product of
our academic superiority,
or our extensive ministerial
training, and it won’t
come by mimicking the
gurus of corporate leadership,
or expanding our
name recognition in cyberspace.
Supernatural effects
demand a supernatural
cause.
Peter and John
had one explanation for
what happened—Jesus
did it. Maybe spending
more time "with” the only
supernatural One we
know would result in
more inexplicable things
about which the only conclusion
left to the world
would be … "Jesus did it”.
In addition to being
an active writer, speaker,
teacher, and blogger, Ron
Gallagher serves in a variety
of roles as a ministry consultant
for local churches.
His Biblical insights are
coupled with down-to-earth
humor, satire, and relevant
stories, all aimed at promoting
"right side up thinking
in an upside down world.”
Ron strives to apply God’s
truth in a way that stimulates
the mind, encourages
the heart, and challenges the
cultural norm. Check out his
blog, "Gallagher’s Pen” at
www.gallagherspen.com |
