John 4:43-54

"...'None of you will ever believe unless you see miracles and wonders.'" (4:48)

I can imagine Jesus saying this with some frustration. He came to preach a message that would bring people closer to God, but many people were just coming for the 'show'.

We are still obsessed with miracles today. An Internet search of "miracles" brings up 19,400,000 hits. A recent TV show chronicled the journey of a magician who is investigating whether or not Jesus could have used magic or illusion to perform His miracles.

An online article questions why we never see Biblical-type miracles today. The article suggests that, in the Old Testament, humanity was still very immature, and God needed to perform miracles to prove His power. Now that we, as a society, have reached a 'spiritual maturity', God no longer needs to perform miracles to prove His worth.

I don't know if this is a fair argument. Are we really that different from humans 2000 years ago? Aren't some of us still asking for proof that God is real? The 19,400,00 Internet hits would seem to suggest it.

I think God knew that His humans, His own creation, needed this kind of proof. I think that's why Jesus did miracles - to provide undeniable evidence of the power of God. But I think there must have been times when the fully-human part of Jesus got a little frustrated. Why couldn't these humans just hear the word of God and believe?

In our world, we can't rely on miracles for our faith. I've been a Christian my whole life. I've seen God work in some awesome ways, but I can honestly say I've never seen a dead person rise up and walk, or the Atlantic Ocean part down the middle.

This is the moment when faith must take over. This is the moment when we need to trust that this is a miracle-working God, even if those miracles are never posted on the Internet.