Instant Miracles

As I do every year, I set up Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. It took me most of the day, but by late afternoon, the whole house was decorated, including the trees. There was one very strange event. My mantle piece swag of pine with pre-lit lights is very beautiful, and was an indulgence a couple of years ago. It is very well made and looks like real pine. It fits the mantle perfectly, and the little white lights are a beautiful counterpoint to my Christmas tree decorated all in white and crystal. I artistically weave a shimmery silvery white lacy ribbon along the swag, and then place real pinecones that I brought back from the California Redwood forest. (Yes, I think technically that is not allowed. Shhhhh.)

Anyway, I completed all those careful tasks, and plugged it in. No lights. In dismay, I brought it to my husband and asked if he could find the bad bulb and fix my beautiful mantle piece pine swag. He took apart the fuse on it to see if that was the problem. Nope. Then he tried replacing the bulbs one by one. It still wouldn't light. It was not cheap, even two years ago, and I was very dismayed. So, it sat on the counter, in all its darkness and despair, and we stood sadly gazing at it.
"I don't know what to tell you," he said, "I've done all I can possibly do."
"I guess I could get another one," I sighed.
Suddenly, the pine swag lit up. All by itself. Neither of us were touching it.

I brought it to the mantle, wove the silvery ribbon along its length, placed the pinecones, and plugged it in again. It lit up instantly, a beautiful counterpoint to the Christmas tree with it white lights and crystal ornaments. Was it a miracle? Perhaps. It wasn't working, and then it was...in a flash. Instantly. All by itself.

I have often wondered at the miracles in the Bible. None of them are gradual. Instantaneously, the leper is healed, the water turns into wine, the ax-head floats, the single last drop of oil fills countless jugs, the loaf of bread feeds 5,000, the Red Sea parted, the blind man sees, the crippled man walks, Jesus raises Lazarus from death. No miracle I can think of slowly developed over time.  In the flash of a moment, God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Why? Why are miracles sudden and complete? In nature, things slowly evolve, or change. Day slowly turns to night, youth slowly grows aged, seasons slowly give way to new seasons. But God makes everything new, everything different instantaneously. One moment, we are dead in our sins, destined for Hell, and in a flash, with one word of faith, we are ushered into the Kingdom of God. In a moment, we are no longer doomed, but irreversibly bound for Glory. This is to me the greatest miracle of all, and it happens even now. Miracles abound every time a sinner accepts God's gift of atoning grace.

That's what I thought about as my mantle of light flashed on.

***********
Mark 16:16-20:

¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.