Tsk on miracle poppers

The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”

But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” — Matthew 12:23-24

I didn’t always catch things the first time around when I was a kid. Those who were party poopers, for example, didn’t quite make sense in my young mind. Why would anyone want to be down or dismal during a party? If party poopers get a bum wrap in my Pollyanna world—and it is a Pollyanna world—then a miracle popper? Phew! That role is unwelcomed.

Actually, no, that role is unwanted.

This is a sentence no one wants to hear on the third day their child is missing, or when the final lab results come back with news of an astronomical cancer: “It’s going to take a miracle.”

What we hold IS the miracle at times like these.

And no one in need of a miracle wants the miracle popped.

Yet miracle poppers aren’t new. Even Jesus experienced them. Here, the Pharisees don’t discredit the miracle; rather, they postulate its source, claiming Satan is behind this power. Jesus, however, will not be boxed, trapped, or dismantled. His miracles won’t be tampered with or taken back. No matter how our miracles unfold, and sometimes we can only see half of them in the moment, we can have Pollyanna-like worlds because Jesus alone is our salvation.

Many words describe Jesus. Consider adding miracle because it is a miracle that he offers sinners like us salvation.

LORD: We pray for those in need of a miracle. We also pray for those whose “miracle outcome” is different from what was first prayed. Amen.