The Miracle of Being Christian

    Our dilemma is that we are made weak and cannot save ourselves. But this is only the beginning of our story. Because we are meant to be strong in Christ, to move "from strength to strength", not weaklings in the world, but channels of the Holy Spirit and of the power of God.
     There was another story involving Jesus, boats, and a storm. In this one, Jesus is asleep on a cushion when the storm catches them. The winds blow, the waves grow, and the boat begins to sink. The disciples wake him shouting "Don't you care that we are about to go under?"
     I imagine Jesus dragging himself to his feet on the pitching deck, maybe still half-asleep, confused by the shouting and the uproar. He puts out his hand...
     "BE STILL!" he cries. Give me a minute, everybody. You know what it's like. But for Jesus, it happens! The wind falls silent, the waves grow calm, the boatmen, bailing water, turn and look. The companion boats draw near, picking up loose lines, resetting fallen masts. Lamps come on in the gloom. What just happened? What's everyone staring at? Jesus looks at his companions.
     "Where is your faith?" he asks, as if anybody could have done what he just did...

     Throughout our life, in our weakness, we are faced with situations that threaten to overwhelm us. Most times, we cave in and choose sin as a false solution. Yelling at people. Throwing away relationships. Fleeing the field. Dying to the opportunity.
     But our God is the God of all creation, holding all power in his hands. In our weakness he is ready to come. All we have to do is ask. It is our destiney. In company with the Spirit, we who are the Bride of Christ say "Come, Lord Jesus!" and he is with us. Not weak, as we are, but filled with glory and power. In his name, believers can raise the dead. We can fix what is broken, restore what has been destroyed. We can liberate the captive, heal the sick, shelter the poor, feed the hungry. There is no human need we cannot serve in and through Christ. Our big problem is that we don't know this, so we stay in our weakness, trying to do it alone.

     But I have seen it happen, here in this modern world, when people of faith claim their relationship as children of God, and God sends his power into the world through them.
     The days of miracles are not over. Our weakness is not our destiney. We are the children of God and our Father doesn't abandon us. Have faith, and when you are faced with human weakness of any sort, call on God. He will show you that you can calm any storm with a word.
     It's time to give it a try.