The daily miracle — God with us

“But how could God’s hand reach down this far from heaven?!” Dutch looked at me with a wide-eyed smile, incredulous. I’d just explained how an event was so clearly God’s hand orchestrating the details of our day. He shook his head and grinned, “Must be magic.”

No, it is not. Despite my attempts to avoid that m-word, it wiggled its way into our house and demanded explanation. I explained that while God does miracles which are extraordinary events that display His power, the world tries to copy His miracles by working magic, supposedly extraordinary events that display its power.

There’s always a counterfeit, right?

No I’m not losing sleep over Dutch talking about magic, but it reminded me of a recent conversation — about the Sacred Mundane — with a person who was all nods and agreement, but deep in my spirit I knew we were on different pages.

The sacred mundane’s counterfeit is pantheism. 

The difference, in essence, is the inclusion or exclusion of the word in.  Sacred Mundane says God is in everything. Pantheism says God is everything.

Pantheism says, in Tozer’s words,

“that God is the sum of all created things. Nature and God are one, so that whoever touches a leaf or a stone touches God. That is, of course, to degrade the glory of the incorruptible Deity and, in an effort to make all things divine, banish all divinity from the world entirely.”

On the other hand the Sacred Mundane,

“means simply that God is here. Wherever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place, where He is not. … [and] it may be said that every act is or can be as truly sacred as prayer of baptism or the Lord’s supper. To say this is not to bring all acts down to one dead level; it is rather to lift every act up into a living kingdom and turn the whole life into a sacrament.”

The whole of life is a sacrament. 

I can’t wait to share with you more about what this means. But what about you? What do you think this means?

Or more importantly, What does this mean for you today? 

God is in the laundry room as you sort the lights and darks. He’s by your side as you scrub the hardened oatmeal from  breakfast bowls.  He’s whispering wisdom when frustration strikes and you’re at a loss for what to do.  And He’s listening to your silent heart-thoughts when your only sanctuary is a hot shower and a locked bathroom door.

It’s not magic. But it is a miracle.

Immanuel. God with us. 

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{Where do you see Him today and what difference does it make? Thanks for reading…}