My board chair just sent me this:
First Baptist Church in Forest, Ohio, made all the papers last summer. According to CNN, a guest evangelist was "preaching repentance and seeking a sign from God" when lightning struck the steeple.
Ronnie Cheney, 43, a member of First Baptist, put it this way: "You could hear the storm building outside. The evangelist just kept asking God for a sign; and my goodness gracious, did that evangelist ever get one!
Evidently, according to Ronnie, a lightning stroke traveled through the steeple, down the wires and through the microphone, blew out the sound system and enveloped the preacher in an amazing BOOM and a flash of light! Fortunately, the evangelist, though seriously shaken, was not injured.
The service continued for another 20 minutes until the parishioners realized the church was on fire and evacuated. Total damages were kept to just under $268,000 . . . and a new hair-do for the evangelist.
God may certainly do those things. But the Almighty doesn't seem to have a very good track record of repentant results from razzle-dazzle, or from Cecil B. DeMille, or from make-all-the-papers type miracles. After God's "Top Ten" plagues in Egypt, the Hebrews went right back to doubting His existence.
After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, which would appear as pretty convincing proof that He was who He said He was, the religious leaders got together to plan His execution for first-degree heresy.
You'd think that parting the Red Sea, raising the dead, or zapping a visiting evangelist with mega-volts of electricity would make a believer out of any hell-bent infidel. But Jesus warns, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!" Then Jesus says, "All will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Imagine that? ! Love, not electricity, as THE "sign"? Could it be that his followers loving others (including their enemies) is more convincing proof of God's existence and activity on earth than lightning from heaven? Unselfish love in loving our enemies, caring for the least of these, feeding the hungry and nurturing faith in God's love is like a bolt from the blue . . . and that's even more impressive than a lightning-zapped evangelist!
I can see that God is in your midst becasue I can see the love and caring and support you all have for each other. You may call it something other than god but its there. For me its God (big G) becasue that's the language I grew up with. A more universal term would be Love (with a big L).
Its a little incongruent for me to say this - but when talking about their faith and loving one another, many of our more fundamental brothers and sisters really are talking about God with a litttle g and Love with a little l.
You gals and guys are big L people !!!
