Signs

As I write this article I’m sitting at a tire garage. There are a few things you can always expect at a garage. Grease is abundant. Work tools and gadgets abound. And signs are everywhere. Some signs are printed and some are handwritten. I’ve read a few…and I’m sure they are all important messages…but there are so many that some of the messages get lost in the crowd. The signs are missed.

People have always been amused by signs. Whether interstate signs, ESPN Gameday signs, bumper stickers, or signs being held up for runners in a marathon cheering them on, they seem to both amuse us and inform us. We look for the very best and are often grateful for the messages they convey. Some make us laugh. Some make us cry. Some just tell us what we need to know.

You can go all the way back to the days of the Apostles and find that people were seeking signs. Before people made big decisions they wanted to know that what they were getting into was legitimate — so they would seek a sign. Some looked for signs from the true God and others looked for signs from a god.

On many occasions God would grant their request. For Noah there was a rainbow. For Moses there was a staff that morphed into a snake. For Gideon there was the fleece. And when the son of Man came to earth there would be many more. A baby wrapped in swaddling clothes was a sign to the shepherds. Calming a sea was evidence of power to his apostles. Feeding 5000 made clear that the message was true and the man they heard cared for them.

We still seek signs. We look for messages from God to confirm the decisions we are going to make. We need assurance. And while I believe that sometimes the messages are too clear to discount, I also recognize that it is difficult to fully discern the meaning of every event and consequence.

But one sign is clear. It stands out in the crowd. It, like so many signs in the world, can certainly be ignored. It is a sign that makes some laugh for various reasons. It makes others cry. But more than anything it clearly tells us what we need to know.

For over 2000 years the cross has stood as a sign—a symbol—of the unwavering love of God and the great distance He would go to prove that love to us. If you are looking for a sign, the cross is all you need.

Ben