A miracle is considered to be an extraordinary event that reveals divine intervention in human affairs. We often associate miracles with the quick fix, but sometimes miracles take time and involve many people. For example in the stories in the Bible about Jesus feeding 5000 people in one case and 4000 people in another, Jesus took the small amount of food that was available and after giving thanks, gave it to his disciples to distribute to the crowd. We often forget that the involvement of his disciples and distribution of the food were also part of the miracle.
Over the two thousand year history of Christianity there probably have been many miracles created by the Holy Spirit that are seldom recognized. A recent documentary on Public Television described construction details of some of the great cathedrals of Europe. When you look at their size and intricate carving in stone, they are truly construction miracles but each involved the teamwork of large numbers of people over long periods of time. Walking on the moon and studying Earth from that vantage point is a modern miracle that required the teamwork of a large number of people working a long time. Many would consider the separation of the huge Soviet Union into individual democratic countries another modern miracle.
Christianity today is itself a miracle that involves over two billion followers of Jesus distributed worldwide, working together to improve the quality of life for everyone. Perhaps we need to be more observant and appreciative of the miracles produced by the Holy Spirit that we see around us each day?
Robert C. Frank
Author of Christ’s Team
