Are You a Walking Miracle?

“Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.” (Isa 8:18 AV)

That word for ‘wonders’ piqued my interest. The prophet tells his countrymen the nature of and purpose for the children of Israel. They are to be signs and wonders. Not among themselves.  Rather, to the world.  These signs and owners are for the conversion of the lost around them. They are meant to be an example of what God can do to a people willing to trust Him.  Brown-Diver-Biggs puts it this way - “wonder, sign, miracle, portent;  wonder (as a special display of God’s power); sign, token (of future event)”.  The prophet rightly states the reason for Israel’s existence is to be that manifestation of God’s power to the nations of the world.  They certainly were.  Especially immediately following their exodus from Egypt.  There was no doubt God’s hand was on them.  Their neighbors testified to this fact.  Then, centuries later when Assyria and Babylon took them away, the nations around them knew it came to pass because Israel had forsaken their God.  In short, God’s people should be for signs and wonders of God’s great power among them that they seek after the God whom they know to be the one true God.

I cannot remember the name of the program, and there were several like it, where an individual was overweight and frumpy.  The contestant would go away for a predetermined amount of time to work on weight loss and self-image.  During that time, his or her family made changes around the house that would help encourage the changes to become lasting. Then came the big reveal. Three, six, nine, or twelve months later, the contestant would come out on stage to reveal the new them.  Having lost many pounds and having a complete make-over, almost always the spouse left behind would be stunned. Then moved to tears of joy. The embrace they shared was priceless.  Family and audience were moved beyond words. The person standing before them could not possibly be the same person that left any months before.  It was a miracle.  It was astounding. It was transforming.  Not only for the contestant.  But for the whole family.  In one such season, the motivation for the change was children. The children begged their parent to get help because they wanted this parent to be there on their wedding day.  When this parent came out, their children were so astounded, they rejoiced because they had gained their parent back.

In one of the churches in which I served, there was a saying we often used.  When referring to the changed life of a saint, we would often remark he or she was a trophy of God’s grace.  I don’t know when or where that saying originated, but it is a wonderful expressing of the miracle of God’s grace on the life of a sinner.  But here is the application.  If the world is supposed to see our lives as a trophy of God’s grace, or a wonder, why is it they do not see it?  The saints should be so different the world scratches their collective heads and seeks after God.  It starts with standards of separation.  Dressing differently.  Living different. Behaving differently.  Not getting caught up in what the world is taken away with.  It continues with a Christlike attitude and spirit that exudes the love of the Savior towards those without Christ.  The question is simple. How much of a miracle are we?  How much of a wonder are we? Do we stir up interest after God in the hearts and minds of the world, or are we so much like them they do not see God’s hand?  What do they see?  Do they even care?  Maybe one of the reasons we are not reaching the world is because there isn’t a whole lot unique about us.