Acts 3 - The Message and Today's New International Version
For 9 months, I watched a good friend fight cancer. A month ago, he lost the battle and passed away. Kevin was a worship leader, who moved to Colorado, to set up a ministry to other worship leaders and pastors. His life mission was to glorify God in how he lived and to lead others to a right understanding of their identity in Christ. As a modern day psalmist, he had a way of making everyone around him smile - the kind of person this world needs...really.
Now, I think I understand death and sickness. I realize that we live in a world that is not functioning the way the Creator intended it to function. Our bodies fail us, the creation reacts with volatility and disasters take lives and we have fellow humans who make horrible choices and lives are lost as a result. I am comfortable with knowing that when sin entered the world in Genesis 3, our world became messed up. I really think I am.
That said, when I read stories like Acts 3, I put my Bible down with a puzzled look on my face. You see, Jesus doing miracles and healing people was one thing, but then the Holy Spirit (the same one living in me) filled the disciples and they healed people, that feels totally different. Did those sick people have more faith than my friend? I don't think so. I'm just not sure I'm willing to accept the line any longer regarding the miraculous: "that happened then, but we now have the Scriptures to see God's power." I have too many friends that leave for other parts of this world where they see and experience things like this.
My resounding question right now is this: Is there something in our western culture that inoculates us to the miraculous? Have we "reasoned" out the possibility of the impossible? Are we missing something because we are "civilized"? Anyone have thoughts or experiences to share?
