What happens when an egg falls on a concrete floor and doesn’t break?
The answer is ‘A miracle’.
When I first heard that joke I brushed it off as stale humour. Years later as I write this blog, I keep wondering why the answer to that is ‘a miracle’. Is it because the event defies what normally happens when an egg meets a concrete floor?
That little moment of stale humour left me pondering the true meaning of the word “miracle.” After going through various definitions, I’ve come to realise that the weight of the term “miracle” and its association with the extraordinary or supernatural is largely tied to the presence of a Divine Supernatural Being behind it.
Scripture confirms it in Matthew 8:7, “But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” The disciples were more in awe of Jesus and the authority He carried to command the wind and waves, than the miracle of the wind and waves themselves.
Similarly, the Bible is full of miracle stories from “In the beginning” to “Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen”(Genesis to Revelation). The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus and everything in between are miracles.
So, why are we talking about miracles today? By today I mean the 21st century. Are miracles even the slightest possibility in today’s day and age where rationalism is at its peak?
Are miracles relevant today?
Truth is, if salvation is relevant today, so are the miracles of Jesus. You read that right! Well, the salvation story in itself is a miracle. So everything about it and what follows after it will resonate miracles. Let me explain!
The entirety of the Gospel revolves around the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross and the salvation experience is a unique occurrence that the historical event brings us. “Salvation” is a word that sums up the total work that God desires to do in our lives which is beyond forgiveness of sins.
Salvation is the miracle of all miracles you could ever experience. When you’re born again, you become a living miracle! Salvation makes you right with God and gives you a brand-new life through Christ. It’s like a whole new birth. You are reborn again, born from above and born of the Spirit. And the Spirit brings you into God’s family. Now, Jesus is your Saviour, heaven your forever home, and God, your Father.
Did you know the word “salvation” comes from the Greek word sozo, meaning “to save”? Sozo pops up throughout the Bible in various contexts, each time revealing a unique aspect of what it means to be saved.
- In Matthew 9, it’s used for the woman healed after 12 long years of suffering.
- Then, in Matthew 8:25, when the disciples panic during a storm, they cry out, “Lord, save us (sozo)! We’re going to drown!”—a plea for rescue from immediate danger.
- In John 11, sozo appears again as Lazarus is brought back from death itself.
- Paul, in 2 Timothy 4:18, uses sozo to describe God’s ongoing protection, a continual rescue from evil.
The provisions of salvation benefit us in all totality—which is—spirit, soul and body. It comes with forgiveness, healing, protection and even raising the dead. All in all, if we were to sum up all of the above under one umbrella term, it would be “miracles”.
The big question, however, is, does God still perform miracles today?
I know of no Scriptural reason why God would not, or could not, perform miracles today. He is still a sovereign God and our modern world has somehow minimised His ability to act in miraculous ways. But here’s a story that portrays that the God who raised Jesus from death, is the same God who works in the 21st century—He confirms His words with signs and wonders even today.
ALC Miracle story
Pastor Aaron was invited to minister at a housewarming ceremony in Bangalore a few years ago. During the event, as he shared God’s heart with everyone there, the hosts invited him to pray for specific guests. As he was led by the Spirit, Pastor Aaron began praying for individuals, one by one. Among them was a couple who had been struggling to conceive. They saw several doctors and gynaecologists only to receive the same negative report. They were on the verge of giving up hope.
In his time of preparing, to intercede for the couple, God revealed to the Pastor a vision of a baby and verified it with a word of knowledge from the Bible before he even visited the room where the couple had been. Pastor declared those words over the couple’s lives and encouraged them, by faith, to dispose of every doctor’s report and only hold onto the promise God had given to them that day.
And then life went on.
About two years later, the family who had hosted the housewarming returned to Amazing Love Church after Sunday service, bursting with excitement. They shared with Pastor Aaron a photo of the miracle baby and joyfully reminded him of the promise God had spoken through him over that once-childless couple. They even set up a video call so the Pastor could connect with the couple and see the incredible fulfilment of that promise firsthand.
In the 21st century, despite all our advancements, we are not immune to God’s power. His Word stands sovereign, and He continues to affirm it through signs, wonders, and miracles. However, miracles are not the pinnacle. The role of miracles is to often point to the big story of redemption. God redeems people from sin so that they can enter the glory of God’s presence.
The little miracle stories are just mere building blocks to the ultimate redemption story of Christ’s crucifixion, death, resurrection, ascension, reign, and second coming. These stories have pertinence to us because God’s call to salvation still goes out to sinners today.