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| Richard F. Speece Pastor Bob Moore Director of Music |
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PAGE 5
Page 5
Calvary Baptist
Bradenton, Florida
miracles would be possible.
Our world is orderly and characterized by laws. Some people take the notion
of miracles to mean the laws governing the universe have been contradicted, and
that, they argue, can't happen. So I like to show how believing in miracles means
believing in laws, order and hierarchy. Believing in miracles does not mean I
believe in the contradiction of law. Actually it means I believe that laws are
hierarchical, and from our perspective miracles are only apparent contradictions to
laws. But if I were to say it in those terms, most people would just look at me as if I’
ve said something incoherent or totally useless, and so I like to make some
analogies.
I have some friends, Mike and Marna Reece, who used to be missionaries living
in Togo, West Africa. They had a rule that dogs were not allowed inside the
house. Now they had a dog, which had been trained not to enter their house and
in fact was never allowed inside their house. The dog would come up on the porch
but even if the door was open, he wouldn't go inside.
Now in that part of Togo live lots of lizards, and some of them grow to pretty good
size. Mike and Marna’s dog loved to catch the large lizards and then play with
them, but he was kind of rough with the lizards so before long they would expire.
The lizards would sometimes pretend to be dead, lying on the ground belly up, not
moving. When the dog left they would jump up and race for cover. Eventually the
dog caught on and made a game of it. He would pounce on a lizard and when it
stopped moving he would go a little ways away and sit down on his haunches
waiting for the lizard to hop up and try to escape so he could catch it again.
One day the dog caught a particularly large lizard and brought it up on the porch.
The lizard was lying on its back playing dead right outside the front door of the
house. Now Marna wasn’t aware of what was happening on the porch and opened
the door to come out. At that very moment the lizard decided it was time to
escape. He flipped over and ran right past Marna into the house. The dog took
off after him, but stopped himself right at the doorway since he knew he knew the
law---he was not allowed to go inside the house.
Now Marna wanted the dog to go inside and catch the lizard, but the dog wouldn't
do what he had been trained not to do. The dog didn't understand that Mike and
Marna were the ones who set the boundaries for him and if they wanted they could
override those boundaries in given circumstances.
Miracles are like that. They are the rare instances when God chooses to
override a lower law with a higher law: dogs aren’t allowed in the house,
except when a lizard enters the house, in which case the dog is allowed
in to get the lizard out.
Actually, higher laws overriding lower laws happens all the time. Suppose a
visitor from PNG came to America. He would be fascinated by our cars and how
they are regulated by traffic laws. He would soon figure out by observation that
when the traffic light is red the cars stop. Then one day he sees the traffic light
is red, and yet a boxy looking truck with flashing lights and blaring horn charges
right through red light after red light. There you have a lower law being overridden
by a higher law.
A man on death row is scheduled to die on a certain day. Every week for two
months someone has been put to death. On the day this particular man is taken
to the death chamber an officer comes rushing in with a document signed by the
governor commuting the sentence of the man to life imprisonment. Again, a
higher law has overridden a lower law.
Miracles are really higher laws overriding lower laws. Some occur so infrequently
that they appear to be contradictions to law when really they are only higher laws
overriding lower ones.
If there is a God, then miracles, in the sense of higher laws overriding lower laws,
are certainly plausible.
Our world is orderly and characterized by laws. Some people take the notion
of miracles to mean the laws governing the universe have been contradicted, and
that, they argue, can't happen. So I like to show how believing in miracles means
believing in laws, order and hierarchy. Believing in miracles does not mean I
believe in the contradiction of law. Actually it means I believe that laws are
hierarchical, and from our perspective miracles are only apparent contradictions to
laws. But if I were to say it in those terms, most people would just look at me as if I’
ve said something incoherent or totally useless, and so I like to make some
analogies.
I have some friends, Mike and Marna Reece, who used to be missionaries living
in Togo, West Africa. They had a rule that dogs were not allowed inside the
house. Now they had a dog, which had been trained not to enter their house and
in fact was never allowed inside their house. The dog would come up on the porch
but even if the door was open, he wouldn't go inside.
Now in that part of Togo live lots of lizards, and some of them grow to pretty good
size. Mike and Marna’s dog loved to catch the large lizards and then play with
them, but he was kind of rough with the lizards so before long they would expire.
The lizards would sometimes pretend to be dead, lying on the ground belly up, not
moving. When the dog left they would jump up and race for cover. Eventually the
dog caught on and made a game of it. He would pounce on a lizard and when it
stopped moving he would go a little ways away and sit down on his haunches
waiting for the lizard to hop up and try to escape so he could catch it again.
One day the dog caught a particularly large lizard and brought it up on the porch.
The lizard was lying on its back playing dead right outside the front door of the
house. Now Marna wasn’t aware of what was happening on the porch and opened
the door to come out. At that very moment the lizard decided it was time to
escape. He flipped over and ran right past Marna into the house. The dog took
off after him, but stopped himself right at the doorway since he knew he knew the
law---he was not allowed to go inside the house.
Now Marna wanted the dog to go inside and catch the lizard, but the dog wouldn't
do what he had been trained not to do. The dog didn't understand that Mike and
Marna were the ones who set the boundaries for him and if they wanted they could
override those boundaries in given circumstances.
Miracles are like that. They are the rare instances when God chooses to
override a lower law with a higher law: dogs aren’t allowed in the house,
except when a lizard enters the house, in which case the dog is allowed
in to get the lizard out.
Actually, higher laws overriding lower laws happens all the time. Suppose a
visitor from PNG came to America. He would be fascinated by our cars and how
they are regulated by traffic laws. He would soon figure out by observation that
when the traffic light is red the cars stop. Then one day he sees the traffic light
is red, and yet a boxy looking truck with flashing lights and blaring horn charges
right through red light after red light. There you have a lower law being overridden
by a higher law.
A man on death row is scheduled to die on a certain day. Every week for two
months someone has been put to death. On the day this particular man is taken
to the death chamber an officer comes rushing in with a document signed by the
governor commuting the sentence of the man to life imprisonment. Again, a
higher law has overridden a lower law.
Miracles are really higher laws overriding lower laws. Some occur so infrequently
that they appear to be contradictions to law when really they are only higher laws
overriding lower ones.
If there is a God, then miracles, in the sense of higher laws overriding lower laws,
are certainly plausible.
| DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? |
| Pr Rick Speece December 2005C |
| Extracted from sermon delivered on 27 November 05 at Calvary Baptist Church, Bradenton-FL. |
Church