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Rome. It is called "wondrous" by adults. But to my 7 year-old mind, it was out of this world.
I had already come to this conclusion long before we saw him. He only solidified in my mind that there was nowhere as wonderful as Rome...
We had just entered one of the many large squares in Rome. This one was crowded with people, forming a circle around a man. I couldn't see a thing, so much to my mother's frustration, I wormed my way through the crowd, crawling between people's legs, until I was right at the front of that ring of people. And there, in the middle of the square, was the most amazing man I had ever seen: Muscle Man!!!
This hulk of a human being was throwing huge boulders into the air and then catching them. He was juggling things that I couldn't even lift. And then, wonder of wonders, he opened his mouth and flames spewed out!
I stared in total awe and wonder. My mouth was hanging open, and my little fingers were pressing the shutter button on my little black and white camera until I finally ran out of film. What a wonder! I even opened my mouth and blew out all my breath, trying to see if maybe I could breathe fire as well. And then I felt the hand of someone on my shoulder: I was being drawn back to my family...
Even though the next thing on our agenda was ice cream, something I wanted really badly, I couldn't stop thinking about "muscle man". It was nothing short of a miracle to my little eyes, and I couldn't stop wondering about that man who could juggle boulders and breathe fire. I wondered if I might grow up to be able to do those things one day...
I think this must have been a bit how the people of Jesus' day felt. They saw a mere human being putting mud on a blind man's eyes, and suddenly he could see. They saw lame people walking. They saw new flesh appearing all over the lepers' bodies. They even saw dead people coming back to life. It was pure awe and wonder. How could any mere human do all of that?
But here the comparison between Jesus and my "muscle man" ends. Jesus wasn't a "mere" human, and He didn't do the things He did of His own strength. Rather, it was the power of God working through Him.
I wish I could have been there. If that "muscle man" made such an impression on my 7-year-old mind, how much more would I have been impressed by Jesus' miracles!
I did grow up to realize I would never be able to juggle boulders or breathe fire; however I have also "grown up" in my walk with Christ, and I realize that I -- we all! -- have access to the same power Jesus had. We, too, can heal people through the power of God's Spirit. I've seen it happen, I've experienced it myself, and you can too. Didn't Jesus say, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12 NIV)?
Our job is to believe that God's power is still alive and at work through us today. Our job is to seek God, to believe in His power in us, and to love others enough to pray for them, ever believing (remember that mustard-seed of faith?) that through Jesus, we, too, can move mountains.
In His love,
Rob Chaffart
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