And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
“Seen it.” That is a typical expression of cynicism and indifference that speaks volumes on where we are as a culture. We are too easily entertained but far more easily bored stiff. If the next fireworks display is not more spectacular than the last one, it was terrible. When Jesus walked the earth, performing miracles, that was not a problem. Here he had just healed a paralytic and this came soon after cleansing a leper, supplying a miraculous catch of fish, and healing many, including a man with an unclean demon. The reactions described here are typical; they glorified God, amazed and filled with awe at what they saw that day. We would do well to learn some lessons from these verses.
We might not see miracles and healing at the rate that the followers of Jesus did when he was here with us, but miracles occur. Every time we see someone changed by God and given the gift of salvation, we should follow this checklist as we see them stand up as a new creation. We are never so far in our walk that we cannot be seized by amazement and awe when someone’s walk begins, even if we have “Seen it”. Every time we hear a testimony and witness someone get baptized, we should follow the same checklist. In fact, even when we see the ordinary things God does in our lives, giving us another day, letting us enjoy a beautiful sunset, or watching children and grandchildren grow, we should exclaim…
We have seen extraordinary things today!
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church