The Chemistry of a Miracle
photo from Flickr, posted by Horia Varlan
When we envision or hope for God to do something in our lives, we picture what should better be called “magic.” We trust Him to wave his magic wand, and – poof! – things are no longer as they were. What once was is no longer, or what once wasn’t, all of a sudden is. A path suddenly clears for us. A tumour disappears. Negative feelings are instantaneously replaced with positive. Sometimes God works His “magic,” and that is what we like to call a miracle. And it really is.
But most of the time, God’s miracles look more like chemistry. In order for something to be changed in chemistry, there is a process. Things are combined and stirred up. Heat is applied. There is often a waiting period. And the most exciting ones (according to my bio-chemistry major husband) involve explosions. There has to be some kind of reaction for change to happen.
If we think about it, chemistry is just as awe-inspiring as magic. We have to wait for it to happen, but we can see the process as it unfolds. Amidst the stirring and the heating and the explosions, change is taking place at the molecular level. It’s not simply an illusion – we know for certain that it’s real.
This kind of God-activity in our lives should also be called a miracle, as it is the most common way God works in our lives. It is a miracle that He would even love us enough to want to.
