tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1414594286255980159.post404945472212512982..comments2017-06-10T01:26:11.614-07:00Comments on patty kirk: what was it, if not miraclesPatty Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443040733177065911noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1414594286255980159.post-39430666153679706272013-02-18T13:25:58.354-08:002013-02-18T13:25:58.354-08:00One of my convictions is that we should not create...One of my convictions is that we should not create God in our own image. If this is not the height of arrogance (and evil) then I do not know what is. In my personal experience, the more I know him, the bigger he becomes. Just when I think I have the lock on what he is going to do, he does something unexpected. Sometimes, I confess, that his actions do not seem at all in line with what I believe are his characteristics. In those situations, I have to remind myself that he is bigger than me and trust that his actions and characteristics are indeed in synch. I guess this is part of faith. Anyway, I think that we can get so caught up in what we expect from him that we completely miss him - we don’t notice the unexpected miracles at all. I think we can get so caught up in what he must do for us now that we do not see what he has already done and continues to do for us.<br /><br />When my mother was dying of brain cancer, for example, I prayed to God and asked him to heal her. As the years went by and my prayers went unanswered, I started asking him to "show me the good" in her brain tumor. He did. He showed me an unreligious, stubborn, independent, and self-reliant Southern woman humbly accepting him as a result of her brain tumor. I am glad I didn’t miss that. She died from the brain cancer but gets to spend eternity with him.GerryLarryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10568142159725743024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1414594286255980159.post-4752882561524830102013-02-16T18:36:27.699-08:002013-02-16T18:36:27.699-08:00Interesting distinction. At this church we used to...Interesting distinction. At this church we used to go to, this guy with a very sick wife got mad whenever people talked about their small, private miracles, like the healing of a puppy's broken leg that I talked about once during a Sunday school class. Why would God heal a puppy, he raged, and not his wife, whom he'd been praying about for decades? I wasn't sure if he was mad at me or God--probably both, I'm thinking now--but it made me feel embarrassed and guilty to have spoken of it. Maybe that's another reason why Jesus so often tells people he heals or releases demons from not to tell anyone. Patty Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443040733177065911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1414594286255980159.post-1005494042815163832013-02-15T12:59:38.080-08:002013-02-15T12:59:38.080-08:00I agree that Jesus performed at least one miracle ...I agree that Jesus performed at least one miracle before the one at Cana. If he performed one then maybe he performed many of this sort - private miracles. I wonder if John is distinguishing between public and private miracles. Maybe a public miracle was one that affected and was witnessed by many people at once and a private miracle was one that was witnessed by a single person or a small intimate group. If Jesus performed a miracle in front of his family or disciples and they told about it, I think it would be easy to dismiss them. It would be harder to dismiss a miracle if it was witnessed by people with no ties to the one performing it. GerryLarryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10568142159725743024noreply@blogger.com