Only Natural

As much as we want signs or miracles, we like to believe that everything can be explained in nature.

So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” - John 6:30-33,48-51

I came across a recipe for manna, but it isn't for the bread that came from God.  It is for a sweet nougat made from egg whites, sugar, cardamom and pistachios.

It is a candy found throughout Europe and the Middle East. 

Manna has also been described as hoarfrost, but that is just frozen water that appears on plants in the morning.

Another explanation I have heard was that manna contains a naturally occurring disaccharide, a simple sugar that can be found in plants.  An article published in 1944 talks about experiments done in 1929 on the origin of desert manna in the Sinai.  The manna is produced by desert insects who add plant material to the sugar and secret it onto leaves.  The Bedouins collect and eat it.

So, there could be a naturally occurring manna.  Does that mean it is not from God?

All we have in nature is from God, so wouldn't God provide a natural explanation for all of it?

It wasn't Moses who made the manna, but God.  That is Jesus' argument, and it appears he was right.

Within the last twenty years, the Japanese have discovered the amazing properties of the sugar, trehalose, that the insects secrete.  It can prevent fat cells from being absorbed in the blood, and can extend the life of vaccines.

Interesting, isn't it?

While Jesus is the gift that brings about eternal life, nature, God's gift of this world, can supply many tools to extending this life.

I guess the more we look for natural explanations for the miracles of God, the more we see evidence of God's miraculous works.

It's only natural.

More to come...