When Math and Miracles Collide

Math is hard, right? Maybe not for everyone, but let’s be honest…most people hit a point where it just gets tricky. In school, I actually did pretty well in math. In fact, it was my highest score on the ACT. But even then, I found it to be a pretty daunting subject. It’s one of those things that makes sense in the moment…until it doesn’t.

The challenge for me now is that I just don’t use math that often. And when I do, I usually ask Siri. I’ll literally speak the problem out loud, and she (it) just gives me the answer. Thank you technology.

But don’t even get me started on how math is taught today. You can’t just add 12 + 18 anymore. No, you have to take away 2 from one number, add it to the other, round to 20, and then do a backflip while reciting the steps in Hebrew. I’m exaggerating… kind of. When my kids ask me for help with their math homework, I glance at the problem, nod like I understand, secretly use AI, and then deliver the answer like I totally knew it all along.

A long time ago I had a season in my life where I was a substitute teacher. One day I was subbing in a 5th grade math class and they were multiplying fractions. I thought I remembered how to do it - spoiler alert: I didn’t. Pretty sure I gave the whole class the wrong answer. Sorry about that Mrs. Busby.

However, despite all that confusion, one of my favorite things in math class was the alligators. At least that’s how I learned the greater than and less than signs: > and <. For some reason, those little gator mouths just stuck with me.

One time Jesus used the phrase “greater than” in a way that no one could have ever expected and it for sure stuck with me too. He said this:

John 14:12 – “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”

Hold up. Jesus said what?

He said we’d do greater works than Him? That’s not just a math problem - that’s a spiritual equation that’s hard to wrap your head around. Jesus healed the sick, calmed storms, raised the dead. And He’s saying we’ll do greater things? Excuse me while I sit down for a second.

It sounds overwhelming, like He just handed us an impossible test without giving us the answer key. But here’s the thing: He’s not putting the pressure on us. He’s reminding us that He’s leaving, but He’s not leaving us alone. You with me?

Jesus went to the Father, but He sent the Holy Spirit to live in every believer. And through the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to do what we could never do on our own. It’s not about us solving the problem - it’s about letting God work in us and through us.

So maybe life is kind of like math. It’s confusing, the formulas change, and sometimes you give the wrong answers. But with the right guide and the ultimate answer key, the Holy Spirit, you’re going to be okay. God is going to be with you and use you to change lives in the here and now and for eternity.

If Jesus believes we can do “greater than,” maybe it’s time we started believing it too.

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him. - Ephesians 1:13-14