Why is sin death? God created us to live eternally, yet we die. What did we do, what are we doing that causes us to die? Sure it was Adam and Eve who first sinned, but what exactly did we loose, materially, physically that allowed us to keep on living? Let's look at it another way. If we 'embrace' life do we live longer? When we exercise, eat right, take care of ourselves we each individually might live longer. If we extend this behavior to the people around us do they live longer? How is it that we cause death? Matter is energy. I am in awe, and it is beyond my comprehension, that nothing exists physically. It is all energy. Absolutely! Nothing has substance. It all exists only because God has made it so (John 1:1-5). Science will tell you all the matter in the universe could be compacted down to the size of pencil eraser, or essentially nothing, if all the energy that held it together could be removed. Originally God created us to live forever. We were to live on this planet with all of its abundance and resources and maybe grow into beings that could go beyond our planet. But somehow we disrupted the flow or balance of energy that made us who we were supposed to be. Miracles have transcended life. Someone is sick or dying and we ask for a miracle. If somehow we could comprehend the state of energy in the universe, or maybe its' flow, would we be able to heal someone or ourselves? No! We are incapable of understanding this energy/matter design that God created. If there was to be a miracle in this energy/matter continuance that is the design of our Lord, only he could guide us. Maybe God meant for all of us to have the ability to be a part of our energy/matter existence. Maybe he meant for us to understand it, to know it, to exist with it, to be a part of its' purpose. Even now I'm tempted to call it power but I fear that is arrogance that goes against this natural energy/matter relationship. Mankind somehow proved incapable of being a part of this presence, so we die. Sure we have a short existence and that too has a purpose. God, through his son, has made it possible to live forever if we follow his ways. In fact even the covenant provided by God was broken by mankind, you and me, and God saved us by his Grace. Now supposing we wanted to heal someone. Suppose we wanted to channel the flow of this energy that creates matter and make a tumor go away or cure someone of a disease. Matter on this level is far more complicated than a simple element. It's not a simple element we'd be dealing with. We'd have to affect the energy of compounds, moods, desires, purpose, the human existence as a whole. We wouldn't be effecting the energy balance of just a simple element like sodium, we'd have to effect the energy of a whole human being's makeup. Why we can't even make a grain of sand. Only with God's direction, maybe his instruction: "the faith of mustard seed," could we be a part of this energy/matter flow. Once again I'm tempted to say "change' or 'power', or 're-direct' this energy. How dare I? Who am I to make such an assumption. Even with the most basic of human constructs I can not comprehend this energy/matter existence. What would I do with this 'power'? Can I be trusted? Could mankind exist with the power of 'the faith of a mustard seed'? If you think about it mankind has been trusted with some amount of this power. We can build, create, encourage others, provide food, invent, think, etc. But what do we do? We destroy? We destroy even with a hammer. What would we do with the faith of mustard seed? The power that we have been granted is only a small segment of a broader spectrum of God's energy/matter creation. Sure we can pound nails or apply math to leverage. But this is not re-directing energy into a new form or shape per se. Our human re-direction of energy is much slower, simpler where as the ultimate is infinately capable. I believe we see miracles almost every day. I don't think God wants to light up the skies or create a new experience for us every time he gives us a miracle. Some say God created mankind to have our own will. By his loving kindness toward the human race he encourages us by not dazzling us with miracles, but makes them part of our every day existence so that we can hopefully grow into the beings he destined us to be, humbly. kbushnel.sdf-us.org/contact.html