So I'm not ashamed to say it...I've recently discovered YouTube. Not like "I'm completely internet illiterate and never had any idea what YouTube was...", just "I'm gainfully unemployed right now and I have the time to explore a medium that is rapidly changing the way we as a society operate and what we decide is news." So, armed with 10 minutes before my shower I sat down to check my email and try to find a video of Griffin House playing a song I like that I heard was on YouTube. Anyone who has ever ventured into this creation playland can appreciate the mind numbing twists and turns three minutes on this site can produce. I somehow went from Griffin to a cat turning backflips to a Pearl Jam concert in Hawaii to this...God, Inc. Given my interest in God (Creator, Savior, Lover of Me, etc.) I decided to check it out. The premise is as follows: God has a corporate office in heaven, where people work executing various responsibilities people on earth believe God has. Examples include population control, disasters, publicity, animal development, etc. There are three episodes of this series, and while it's not the greatest thing I've ever seen, they're certainly entertaining. The second episode was particularly amusing and/or thought provoking. The question I found myself asking was "What do we classify/approve of as a miracle?" The miracles team is arguing over what submissions they've made in the last month, and whether they each contain a "hug moment." I found it revealing that the stuff they were discussing tends to be what's held up in our world today as obvious miracles. Do we have an idea what a miracle even looks like today? The dictionary says this:

mir·a·cle (plural mir·a·cles)
noun

Definition:

1. act of God: an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God

2. amazing event: an event or action that is amazing, extraordinary, or unexpected

Certainly curing a sickness, healing a blind man, or casting out a demon would qualify as an amazing event. Christ commonly performed these things while here on earth. He also gave authority to others to perform miracles in his name. In Matthew 10:1 he freely gives to his disciples..."He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." But he also makes it clear in John that "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:9-14). What do we consider "even greater things?" Is coming to a place where I truly love my enemy and pray for him a miracle? Is God coming to earth in flesh to die a death intended for me so that I can live in relationship with him a miracle? Is freely receiving God's unconditional love for me a miracle? Seems so. Is a cat returning to its home in Maine after being left in Colorado four years earlier a miracle? Hmmmmm... Enjoy the episode...feel free to comment at will.