That's Incredible! Or not.

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? (Acts 26:8)

What is incredible to you? It all depends on your perspective. About 12 years ago when I first went out to California and drove the Pacific Coast Highway, I thought it was incredible that there were cyclists on that road, climbing those huge hills by the Pacific Ocean. Then, about six years later, I did it myself! When I moved to the Pacific Northwest and first saw Mt. Rainier I thought it was incredible, then in 2007 I rode my bike up Mt. Rainier. When I first started watching the Tour de France I thought it was incredible that those men could race their bikes for more than 100 miles a day for three weeks. Then in 2008 I rode my bike from Canada to Mexico in three weeks. What seems incredible to a person all depends on their perspective (although, I must confess, the Tour de France still seems incredible).

Paul found it incredible that any of the people he was speaking to when he appeared before King Agrippa would wonder if God could raise the dead. That sounds strange, when you first hear it, because it's usually the exact opposite. People are usually incredulous when they hear about the resurrection. That's why, even though the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the best documented event in all of ancient history, most people refuse to believe it.

But what you find incredible all depends on your perspective. When I first began to read about the huge quantities of complex specified information in the DNA of living cells I found it incredible. Then as I learned about the amazingly complex nano-machines inside of every single cell, I thought it was even more incredible. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that these discoveries simply demonstrate that life could not have arisen "accidentally" on its own, but must have been designed by our Creator God.

Once you understand that there must be a Creator who gives life to every creature, a Creator to put the awesome galaxies of the universe into place, a Creator who fashioned a world perfectly suited to us to enjoy, then nothing else is incredible any longer. God raising the dead? What's so incredible about that? Breathing life back into a lifeless body is child's play compared to designing and executing the miracle of life in the first place.

Sometimes people will read the Bible and wonder about some of the stories in it. Like the time when God made the sun's shadow go backward ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz. There's nothing incredible about that. If gravity can bend light (which we know it can) surely God has the power to do so. Or what about the Virgin Birth. If God can write the genetic code into our DNA, surely he can create the exact genetic code of His own Son in the womb of Mary. What's incredible all depends on your perspective. Let's not be incredulous when God tells us of his marvelous works and ways. Instead, let's honor and glorify him He is the One who is truly incredible!