Jesus promised that signs and wonders would follow those who believe. Justin Brierley reports on how Christ's words are coming true in countries around the world today.
The story of baby Yasmin Gomes of Londrina, Brazil went viral last year. She stopped breathing shortly after she was born and, despite numerous attempts, the hospital staff were unable to resuscitate her. With no heartbeat or sign of oxygen in the body, a death certificate was issued by the doctor. A nurse placed the lifeless baby in a box on the altar of the hospital chapel.
Naturally, the family were devastated. But when Yasmin’s grandmother came to collect the tiny body, she received the shock of her life. The baby’s leg kicked, and then she opened her eyes. After being ‘dead’ for three hours, Yasmin went on to experience a full recovery. Yasmin’s parents gave her the name Victoria – ‘victory’ in Portuguese – saying, ‘There is no explaining miracles. They happen as God wants. There must be a higher purpose in all this.’ The doctor said he had ‘never witnessed anything like this in 20 years of medicine’.
Whatever you make of the story of baby Yasmin, hers is just one of hundreds of thousands of miracle stories from around the world. Onlookers from the West can seem strangely insulated from the supernatural reality that informs the lives of many people globally. Yet in China, where the Church is experiencing phenomenal growth, miraculous claims are commonplace. Edmond Tang, a researcher in Asian Christianity at Birmingham University says, ‘According to some surveys, 90% of new believers cite healing as a reason for their conversion.’ Indeed, in every part of the world, stories of the supernatural are a common part of the spiritual landscape.
Perhaps our ‘enlightened’ approach to science and reason in the Western world has also endowed us with some cultural blind spots. So what miracle stories are being reported? And is the rationalistic Western world willing to have its eyes opened?
Comments
Post a Comment