Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Meditate: Acts 2:43

I caught the movie Groundhog Day with one of my daughters this morning.

What’s that got to do with signs?

Well, this word “signs” often confuses us. We think of a “sign” as something to be interpreted, like asking if the groundhog saw his shadow. We say that “we all know what that means…” but do we?

After all, all it really means is that some people are really desperate to foretell the future because they’re unwilling to trust that God is loving and merciful - that He really has their best interests in mind. See, if I have a clue about the future then I can plan around it.

Maybe that’s a little heavy-handed.

I don’t actually know of anyone who takes it seriously except for the tourism folks up in Punxsatawney, PA (www.groundhog.org, by the way) and all they’re really serious about is boosting their local economy with some silliness.

But heavy-handed or silly, this idea that God can’t be trusted and therefore little signs must be looked for has very old roots. Interpreting signs in nature is a form of fortune telling that the Bible forbids God’s people to participate in. And that’s what makes this matter of wonders and miraculous signs so interesting.

See, these wonders and miracles, these transformations and rescues are proof, signs, to any who are paying attention that a loving God is still active in this world, that He’s involved, that He’s still reaching out to men and women, that He’s still willing to save, to change, to redeem, to transform. They’re not warnings, they’re reminders that His grace is still enough, that His mercy still reaches us; that we are never, while in this world, totally without hope because God is here.

How do we know? Wonders and miraculous signs. Not so we can keep an eye on God’s providence and know how to work around it. But rather so we can be reminded of the comfort of His love, reminded of the saving work of Jesus, reminded that we have not been abandoned.

Remember the two reasons for a miracle? Proof of His power and proof of His grace. He can and He will. How do we know? We’ve seen His sign…

• What signs is God giving me of His grace, His love, His mercy, and His power?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord, my God, who brought me out of darkness into the Light of Your love and mercy.

Confess: Too often I close my eyes and deafen my ears to Your signs.

Thank: You have never stopped showing Yourself faithful. It’s never been about my efforts but it’s always about Your grace.

Ask: Open my heart and my mind to the wonder of You.

Digging Deeper: John 12:12-50

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