Signs

As a child I was fascinated by the road.

We had a station wagon and relatives out west so in the summer we would pack it full and head that way for vacation. I managed to talk my Dad into letting me sit next to him by promising to be still. No problem. My eyes were glued to his every move.

I caught on fairly fast that sometimes the road signs changed my Dad’s actions. If a sign had big numbers he would either slow down or speed up. If the signs were green or brown, he might turn the wheel to the right and our wagon would curve in a big arc. That was cool because it made my little body lean real close to him and it wasn’t my fault.

Dad taught me what signs were for and how to read them. I’m grateful for that training as it really comes in handy when I’m the one behind the wheel. What I like about signs is they tell.

Road signs tell me where I am, how to get where I’m going, warn me of dangers, measure my progress and build my anticipation. When there are no signs, I get lost.

This summer I began a journey back through the Gospels of Jesus in my Bible. I’m now in Luke and about halfway through. My eyes are glued on what God is doing behind the wheel of my life and a big sign is forming in my understanding: God provides clear signs for my safe travel.

God’s road signs started back in the Garden of Eden where he placed a big one that said “Steer clear of this tree!” When they failed to heed that sign, He promised Eve that from her womb would come One Man who would cancel the curse of evil she and Adam were now under. Throughout the subsequent years until that Man, Jesus Christ, was born, signs were there, telling, warning, measuring and building anticipation.

What I see now in reading the Gospels again is how surprised everyone was when he finally arrived. Even his parents, after having one-on-one personal, supernatural visits from God’s angel, with clear instructions on what was about to happen and what to name the child, still marveled when shepherds rushed into the stable, prophets grabbed their child in the temple and openly proclaimed his deity and kings showed up at their doorstep with gold. Am I saying they shouldn’t have marveled? No way. Who wouldn’t? Everything God does is marvelous.

But, as I read through the entire Gospel (it’s especially clear in Mark), there is a pattern of surprise.

Surprise? Why? Did they not see the signs? Did they not read them? No. the signs pointing to the Messiah were well documented and taught throughout the generations. The problem was not in their lack of knowing, it was in their lack of believing. The surprise expressed by those who encountered Jesus was directly correlated to their level of belief or unbelief. It still is.

This lack of belief is what keeps floating to the surface in the Gospels. Near the beginning of his ministry Jesus comments on his disciple’s lack of belief and understanding. But as their time together increased, he became irritated, then incredulous and in the end hurt by their unbelief.

How convicting! I have been an eye-witness to his incredible power both in my life and in others and still, after all these years of walking with him, I doubt!

Those who approached him with the faith of a child got what they asked for and he honored them openly for their belief. Those who tried to process his works and words through their logic, their pride or their ‘God-box’ were confused and/or offended – even to the point of murder.

Why are we surprised when God shows up? I’m ashamed that I too still doubt. But we, like the Hebrew nation 2,000 years ago, have signs all around us of a second appearance of Jesus Christ: Nation will rise against nation…there will be famines and earthquakes around the world…and that is just the beginning of signs.

Believe.