Miracles aren't enough

Have you ever been in that bible bash with someone of another religion, where you feel like you pull out that perfect scriptural reference, where use your life experiences and your knowledge of God to put things together as perfectly as possible? Where you testify what you have learned by the power of the spirit and it was poetically beautiful? Where you feel like you've done the very best you can, with help from the other side. Yeah - that moment. And you look at the person you're trying to teach/help/bash with, and you see they gained nothing from it.

credit: ZME Science

They were waiting for you to finish talking, so they could continue the argument. The best you can hope for is to do so well on a subject that they change the subject to one that they believe they can more successfully argue against you. The worst case - well, the worst case probably results in you understanding that you have cast your pearls before swine. You've given up the pearls, the swine are not benefitted, and now you and the pearls are covered in manure. All you have done is get dirty.

I've felt like that before. I realize that after one of these sessions, not only do I feel like I need to take a shower from the angry emotions I feel, but also I need to check my own intellect: why would a person willingly waddle into a swamp to mud wrestle with a pig? You just know you're going to get dirty, and the pig will enjoy it. Why do we do that? It's not love - not if we know what the outcome will be. I think it's pride.

Self reliance is self failure. Not relying on the Lord - and following his counsel - is pretty much always failure. Guaranteed. We're not perfect individuals, so our best laid plans are imperfect, and will be imperfectly executed.

But what if during that bible bash moment I was able to do something really super awesome? Call down an angel! Or get a meteor to smash right behind his head while he's making a point? Then he'd get it, right?

So here I am, reading in 3 Nephi. The Nephites were pretty much all wicked at this point, and it took Samuel the Lamanite to call them all to repentance. He had authorization to prophesy a variety of "signs and wonders", the greatest of which was a day, night and day with no darkness. Five years from now, he says. So the signs and wonders happen. Does this fix the Nephites? Nope. They get used to them. "It wasn't the day/night/day thing, so it doesn't count" is their response. The day comes when 5 years is up. Signs and wonders? Check. Day/night/day? Not check. They decide to put all the believers to death on the 5 years and 1 day mark. It's the only sign that they're going to count.

Then the moment happens. Night is day. Does this convert them? A few - for a while, but no. If conversion is a dedication to turn our hearts and souls to him, it was a waste of miracles. Did it help the believers? What was the benefit of all those signs, wonders and miracles? Only the Lord has that answer. Was it worth it? God did it, and he has that answer too. It's not mine to attempt to answer that question. He is the only perfect judge.

The light that I do gather from this story though, is that of light. On the night of Christ's birth in Jerusalem, he chose to signal his birth using light. This goes me back to him referring himself to being light. "I am the light of the world". The bright night indicates that light has come to earth, that darkness is at the mercy of light, and that the great Light of the universe controls everything.

Back to the evil folk: did they turn from their evil and become saints? Nope, not even after the one event that they placed all their bets on. This reinforces to me that as a human race, we are not really looking for truth. We're instead looking for confirmation that what we're doing is OK. That's the general rule for humanity. Disciples of God need to change that.

So if miracles don't turn us toward the light, what does? God poured a pile of miracles on the Nephites. As the eternal and perfect judge, he poured enough on them to be more than clear, without doing more than was adequate - any more than what should have been enough would probably just result in further condemnation to the unwilling receiver.

But what turns us toward the light? We do. God does. It's not the meteor that hits the bible bash partner that turns him, it's not our super awesome debate skills. It's not our superior intellect, or our knowledge and memory of just the right scriptures. It's also not about the lack thereof. Instead of memorizing bible bash scriptures, perhaps some of that time can be spent strengthening our soul, so we can more effectively invite others toward Christ. To be the light reflected - the lighthouse - and to make sure our own gaze and hope is not directed toward more knowledge, more ego, more skills, but more reliance on Christ.

I believe that all gifts we have are to be found, cultivated, grown, harvested and shared abundantly. The ability to communicate (what I call the gift of Aaron) and knowledge are beautiful. Like all gifts, they should be developed lest we find ourselves on judgment day, and be found to have hidden our gifts. That said, those gifts are means to serve. Not the end. May we all look to Christ. Everything else will fail.