Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Autumn 2013 | Page 33

Michael and Bethany Crabtree Cates (left) cross the finish
line together at the Austin Marathon in February 2013.

I

nevitably, when my New Testament students read the book of
Acts, especially passages such as the one in which Peter raises
Tabitha from the dead (9:36–43), the question arises, “Why don’t
we do things like this today? Do miracles still happen?”

This kind of query elicits a more basic question, “What is a miracle?”
We normally think of miracles as those events that defy the norm,
when God intervenes in the natural laws (Josh. 10:13) or suddenly
overturns the effects of the Fall (Mark 2:12; John 11:38–53).

Modern-Day
Miracles
by Dr. Amy Peeler, assistant professor of New Testament

Where are the miracles today?
Read how one theology professor answers this
frequently asked question, and meet two alumni
couples who’ve experienced the extraordinary.

In Scripture, however, the focus of those who observe the
miraculous gravitates not to the event but to the someone who
caused the event. “Who is this man,” the crowds inquire, “who
could do such things?” (Matt. 13:54; Mark 6:2). True miracles
signify that God has been at work, directly or through his agents
(Acts 2:22; 19:11; Heb. 2:4). Yet the power of God in miraculous
signs does not overpower, but woos. It calls for a response, a
response of faith and trust (Matt. 11:20–23; Mark 5:30).
If that is the case, we might think that if we don’t regularly
observe miracles, we are shortchanged. We don’t have an
opportunity to respond in faith because there is nothing to elicit
a response. Just as inevitably, however, after one student raises a
question about the absence of miracles today, another will respond
with an anecdote from the global church, where visions, healings,
and even resurrections are igniting conversions to the faith. Then
some will quietly share amazing events that they have experienced
in their own lives and churches.
Our conversation usually ends up broadening our concept of
miracles. We might not all have seen the dead raised, but we have
seen relationships healed, finances provided, bodies healed through
the wisdom of physicians, and even things as quotidian but aweinspiring as the birth of healthy babies. We begin to realize that
our daily existence is miraculous because without the sustaining
power of Christ all creation would dissipate (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3).
All life points to the miracle of God’s goodness toward a rebellious
creation.
Miracles, then, are God’s acts, including everything from
sustaining life to raising the dead. If miracles truly are all around
us, how then should we respond?
One of the most intriguing miracle stories happens right
after Jesus’ transfiguration. While he has been on the mountain
with Peter, James, and John, the rest of the disciples have been
trying—unsuccessfully—to cast a demon out of a boy. When Jesus
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