One for You; 19 for Me

Like many people, I have a list of things that I would like to do before I die.  One of those things is to witness a biblical style miracle.  Considering that tax season is now upon us, I'd like to relate one of my favorite miracles; how Jesus pays taxes.

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Matthew 17:24-27

The most basic definition of the word miracle is, 'an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs'.  However, there is nothing extraordinary about a fish swallowing a shiny coin.  For a man to catch a fish, divine intervention is usually not required.  Though it is certainly possible, I do not believe that God caused the fish to miraculously materialize at just the right place and time.  What I firmly believe happened is, not long before this conversation Peter has with the tax collectors, a coin fell into the water and was snapped up by a passing fish.  Then, for a reason it could not comprehend, the fish swam to the appropriate spot to wait for Peter's fishing line.

One of the central themes I have written on in this blog so far is the fact that God can use anyone to accomplish his purpose.  To accomplish the purpose of this passage, God even uses a fish.  If a fish can be used by God simply by being at a specific place and time, any human certainly can as well.  God did not expect the fish to do some incredibly difficult task.  All of that God required of the fish was to be at a particular place at a given time.

Have you ever felt a strange urge to walk down a particular aisle at Walmart?  Perhaps God had a purpose for your being there.  Maybe you gave up your spot in line at the grocery store or you accidentally ordered five hamburgers instead of just four at the drive-through window.  The point is, we simply cannot know what seemingly insignificant actions of ours could be used by God.  All that God requires of us that we are willing to listen when He prompts us.  If we are willing to do this, we can leave the rest up to Him.