22

January

The mundane and the miraculous

“There is a fine line between the mundane and the miraculous.  If you see the miraculous as mundane, life becomes a bore.  If you learn to discern the miraculous in the mundane, welcome to wonderland.”- Mark Batterson

As Mark Batterson moves on in his Prologue to A Million Little Miracles, he observes that if we experienced sunrise and sunset as a one and done, we’d be overwhelmed with awe.  But, since God does this every day, we feel nonplussed.  Yet, as G. K. Chesterton once noted:

“God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it you cannot look at anything else.”

Certainly, Mark acknowledges, we praise God for anomalies and epiphanies.  As we should.  However, Pastor Batterson asserts, we need to praise God for everything else.  Because, all too often, we overlook and underappreciate a million little miracles.

Above all, Mark exhorts, along with Albert Einstein, we must never lose a holy curiosity.  Therefore, Mark bases much of this book on a simple principle.  A principle of great importance — a first principle:

Nothing is as simple as it seems.  Everything is more miraculous than we can imagine.

As a result, Mark asks “Which way are you living your life?  Are you taking miracles for granted?  Or are you taking them for gratitude?  Is your holy curiosity waxing or waning?”

In conclusion, Pastor Batterson presents the simple yet sweeping premise of this book.  Miracles happen around us all the time.  The problem?  We react more like the pre-Bethel Jacob.  We sleepwalk through the presence of God (Genesis 28:16).

Over time, we find ourselves numb to the simple pleasures of lie.  In addition, we lose our childlike sense of wonder.  Most significantly, in order to live life to its full potential, we must recognize it as a miracle from start to finish.

Today’s question: How do you walk the fine line between the mundane and the miraculous?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The task of Christianity?”

About the author 

Dave Henning

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