The most common objection to miracles is that if they happen, God would administer them to everyone. Fair and square. An odd view tied to what philosophers have dubbed the problem of evil.
But is this objection valid?
Closer you look at it, the more you come to realize it doesn’t work in the context of a universe made by a transcendent, eternal Creator for 5 important reasons:
If miracles were common, they would cease to be miracles
God isn’t some genie out there to pleasure you 24/7
To eliminate evil would mean to eliminate us
God has the big bird’s-eye-view, you don’t
There’s tremendous beauty in a delayed final restoration of creation
We’re going to walk through and expand on each of these points so you can understand beyond a reasonable doubt that miracles are not only possible, but make sense as rare and essential actions of a loving God in broken world.
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1. If miracles were common, they would cease to be miracles
A common misconception these days is that more miracles would be better for humanity. But that misses the ultimate reason behind what we consider miracles.
Miracles are committed as signs and wonders devised to point to the Creator and glorify Him.
The original miracle was creation ex nihilo. God making the universe from nothing. And God did so because He wanted us and this universe to exist and experience Him and His love.
According to Genesis, humanity is designed to become His co-rulers and stewards of the creation, being fruitful (productive at expanding the heavens into the material world) and multiplying (through one-man, one-woman marriages with lots of children who then become united through such marriages and bear children of their own). Thereby not only filling the earth but eventually the cosmos with a massive flood of His imagers and glory.
Even though humanity disobeyed Him and destroyed the boundary between His very good creation and sin and death (nothingness/erosion of good), the original mandate remains active though marred. And that creation exists at all serves as a sign of that mandate, directing us toward our spaceless, timeless, immaterial, transcendent Maker.
Any other miracles that occur will have the same function: To direct us toward the Creator.
Pick any miracle in the Bible and you will see that as the ultimate purpose.
The Flood proved God the undefeated just Judge over human and angelic evil
The plagues proved God to be God above all gods in Egypt and Savior of His people
The judgment against the Canaanites proved God righteous sword against sin and ruler of the land
The quail and manna proved God merciful provider and protector of those call His own
Every healing miracle of the prophets and Christ Jesus proved God restorer of life
And so on and so forth. The rare occurrence of each is packed full of such meanings despite not happening all the time and/or to everyone. Why?
Because they exist to give us glimpses of what full restoration will be like in the presence, glory, and brilliance of Lord. Glimpses of heavenly glory (more on this in point 5).
God isn’t some genie in a lamp out there to pleasure you...
2. God isn’t some genie out there to pleasure you 24/7
You should see clearly now that miracles have a purpose, and that purpose isn’t to tickle your every whim.
God is on a rescue mission, one that requires changing the hearts and minds of humanity back toward Him. Thus, anytime a miracle occurs, it is always in service to that mission.
Which means: Miracles are not wishes.
You are not in control. You can commune with your Savior and join Him in the ultimate mission, which will connect you to His overwhelming power. And the Bible even says that for His children He will work out all things for good.
But He remains the final decision maker. The answer may be no or not yet, and you will not always know why.
Yet, be guaranteed there is a reason.
He’s at work to stamp out all evil and build His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Evil hates that mission and doesn’t play fair...
3. To destroy all evil would be to destroy us
The original disobedience in the Garden of Eden put God between a rock and a hard place.
Once sin and death were unleashed upon creation, everything became perverted down to even the atomic level. Especially humanity. Each and every one of us is prone to choose the bad over the good because our very hearts have been cursed by the plague of nothingness invading somethingness.
Entropy.
In order for God to wipe out evil forever with the snap of a finger, He would have to wipe out all creation too and us humans, His co-rulers whom He loves beyond measure. A price He was unwilling to accept.
Instead, all-knowing and anticipating what would happen, He deferred death from us by spilling blood in our place through animal sacrifice in the Garden. Setting up a long line of sacrifices that would culminate in the sacrifice of His own blood on the cross. A final propitiation for all sin, followed up by a permanent resurrection from the grave that secured eternal life against death.
“God should have just not created anything then. Or made obedient robots.”
What glory is there in that? Love is reciprocal. When you love someone who is forced to love you or who can’t love you back, do you find that rewarding in any way?
Free will enables fruitful life and love. Makes capable relationships. Without it, you might as well not exist, and you know it. Yet I would venture to guess you want to exist.
God made humans with free will despite knowing we would rebel against Him because in His eyes we were and are worth the certain risk. He would rather have some of us than none of us, if that’s what it takes.
To get to that last reunion, though, unfortunately requires the permittance of evil for a time.
But evil cannot overcome God because God sees far more than you ever can...
4. God has the bird’s-eye-view of all reality you don’t
It’s possible God didn’t give you a miracle because it wasn’t the right time or would have set off a negative chain reaction that did not serve the ultimate purpose of restoring creation.
Every action has an equal reaction. Sometimes more than one. What philosophers call the “ripple effect.”
You and I cannot see the fullness of reality, so we rarely witness the ripple effect in action and cannot possibly fathom the massive consequences a single poor choice may have...until we’re living through the consequences. Such is what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden, and the consequences were and still are immense. The near-total undoing of the created order.
God doesn’t suffer from our limitations since He transcends everything. Thus, He sees the effects any particular decision may have long before you do and may or may not act with that knowledge to preserve you.
If you’re a follower of Christ, a child of God, then God works to preserve you often, whether you know it or not.
The denial of a miracle may not be a no. It could be a “not yet” or “this must take place so I can give you something even better.”
And rest assured, the final outcome will be so much grander than you can possibly fathom...
5. There’s incredible beauty in a delayed final restoration of creation
“What you meant for evil God used for good,” Joseph said to his brothers at the end of Genesis. The torment he endured, the scars he gained, turned him into second in command of Egypt and the source of salvation for so many people from certain death by famine. The bad became a badge of honor, drowned out by the wonderful manifestation of God’s glory.
Christ’s resurrection seared Joseph’s realization into the universe at cosmic, everlasting scale.
I’ve been reading Gavin Ortlund’s Why Christianity Makes Sense, and he summarizes the beautiful impact of the most consequential miracle in history like this:
“[W]hen Jesus rose back to life, the scars from his crucifixion did not disappear from his body. Resurrection did not simply erase crucifixion. Forever Jesus will retain the scars - eternal trophies of his triumph. You and I can touch them like the disciples did.
Thus, Easter did not reverse the cross; it redeemed it. On Sunday morning, Friday night was not simply obliterated; it was changed into glory. What we have here is...sadness come untrue.
Now here is the earth-shattering news: Everyone who knows Jesus will experience this. Ultimate salvation in Christ will not merely end suffering and evil; it will mend them. Your sorrows and wounds in this life will not merely be over; they will work for your good.”
Miracles exhibit this final expectation every time they occur. Serve as samples of the end consummation. The last resurrection. Where all will permanently and bodily be returned to Eden with everlasting reminders of the victory Christ secured and finalized written into the fabric of creation, even your own skin.
Anywhere you go in that day, you will be able to look toward your friend, your family, your brother, sister, mother, father, and witness glory in masterful magnitude, telling the story of all that was overcome and made right. An eternal narrative of “what was intended for evil God used for good.”
The marvelous tapestry of reconciliation.
A beauty that would not have been accomplished if God had said to all humanity, “I’m ending you because of your wickedness. Get away from me. I never knew you.”
Praise the Lord we get to live and be a part of His perfect vision!
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