John 9:33

“Bottom line, gentlemen,” he pauses and then continues, “if this man were not of God, He could not have done anything like what this man did to me!” John 9:33 EFP

The man closes with a flurry. He sets aside all previous arguments regarding who God hears or who he does not hear. He moves past the questions regarding whether his healer talks to God or whether he is greater than Moses. He cuts to the chase. In short, he says, “This man did a good thing—a miracle that changed my life. Only someone who has some connection with God would or could do anything like what he did to me.”

Is there an argument against the testimony of this man? They could argue that Satan performs miracles—other religious leaders did (Mark 3:22). They could insist that commandment-breakers are not used of God—but that is not supported by the biblical narrative (e.g., Moses and Aaron). They could deny that a miracle actually took place—which is what they are doing. But in the end, the testimony of a changed life stands as a beacon of light on a hill that cannot be hidden.

The church is lacking such stories. They exist. People have stories to tell, but they lay silent while evil takes the day. God is working today, just like he did in biblical times. Lives are being changed. People are being healed. Our defense is to lump all miracles with those of religious carnivals run by spiritual charlatans. Where are the men and women that God can use to change the course of a life, of a community, of a nation? Where is the power? Where there is no power, the people quibble over religious minutiae. We overlook the power of God in favor of parsing and petrifying the living pronouncements of God. How sad.