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A miracle is defined as an extraordinary and welcomed event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. So, when next something that can be explained by natural or scientific law happens and you call it a miracle, you may be very far from the truth.
For example, someone applies for an entry visa to any country of choice and most countries and embassies have their clearly spelt out conditions which upon fulfillment, intending visitors will be issued entry visas. But today, full grown adults rise amongst their congregations to shout on top of their voices that they were issued a visa and call it a miracle. I am always left to wonder if these are actually testimonies to God or just subtle bragging to their brethren that they will soon be leaving for greener pastures. What scientific or natural law do you need to explain issuance of Visa other than common sense?
Issuance of entry visas is a revenue earner for every country because you pay for that stamp. The more legitimate and approved people visit your country, the more revenue you earn from them. So if any nation refuses you a visa, it is usually because their conditions have not been met or the purpose of your visit isn’t clear or any other related reason. It has nothing to do with spirituality. But no, visas have become miracles for which prayer crusades and vigils are organized for brethren to come tarry, fast, pray, and sow sumptuous financial seeds for. Are those part of the requirements by any embassy?
These days, we rarely testify about the real things that can be defined as miracles. The miracle of sleeping and waking. Because no one has ever known when he or she slept. You may well know the exact time you lay on the bed. You can never know the exact time you fell asleep. In the same manner, you never know who or what comes to open your eyes from sleep.
Rather we testify about matters that explicitly reveal our deliberate misinterpretation of miracles. A brother or sister is given an appointment to go serve in public office. An appointment to public service is a CALL TO SERVE. It is those who have established themselves as achievers that are usually invited to come lend their expertise and experience to solve problems for the public. And the first thing that brother or sister does is a testimony and thanksgiving service. Usually these thanksgiving and testimony services are held in more than a few locations and huge sums of money are expended.
It is commonplace for me to always wonder; why not go into action immediately after the announcement, solve one, two, three, four or five problems. Then you tabulate those solutions you have achieved and then go to God in testimony and thanksgiving for giving you the capacity to glorify his name by solving so so and so problems that you met on the ground?
But because in my country, such calls to service are actually calls to steal, those called are in a rush to go tell the former friends that their level has changed. They will now start living on public money and enjoying the best things of life at the expense of others and above all, assure the clergy that their envelopes will get bigger.
Indeed God still works miracles and those miracles happen every second. God is still turning milky sperm cells to embryos every second. God is still filling our nostrils with breathe and our lungs with life sustaining oxygen. He is still enabling our organs to pass out waste. He is still enlivening our senses to perceive. He is still putting smiles on the faces of babies. Those small small things that are giving us the harmony that sustains our world.
So when next you see those people amongst your congregation, don’t let them make you feel inferior and question God. They didn’t come to testify. They haven’t received any miracles. They didn’t come to testify. They came to brag.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo is the Publisher of CrossRiverWatch and a rights activist, is a Cross Riverian and writes in from Lagos.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Agba Jalingo and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.
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