Here's Your Sign!

Bill Envall is a funny man.

Lat night I felt horrible. A cold coming on, drained from a demanding day, all I could think of was the comfy, warm bed that waited for me...and I hurried to it...earlier than I usually do by far. You know how it goes. You rest some, you wake up. Your throat is sore, your sinus is stuffed, your head is pounding and you yearn for relief. You repeat the cycle over and over until you say, "ENOUGH"!

At that moment, you stay up because you just gave up on a night's much needed rest. I tried to read but even my eyes were sore. Flipped on the tube to be distracted and wound up gazing at CMT with Bill about the present the 'Here's Your Sign Award'. This award goes to the nutcase of the day, who was videoed being stupid...really stupid. There were some well deserving qualifiers by the time Bill made the presentation to a loser turned winner. For a moment, I was relieved by the comedy of it. It would be awhile before I would be able to sleep, but I did think about that phrase, "Here's Your Sign".

"Teacher, we want a miraculous sign from you." Matthew 12:38

What a strange contradiction at a crucial moment. Jesus was recognized as a 'Teacher'. He communicated the heart of God with such authority that thousands knew that He was no ordinary professional clergyman. When He spoke, God spoke, (duh...'Here's Your Sign'!). With a word of invitation, successful businessmen dropped their blackberries, cell phones, iPods and laptops, (not really, but they did leave their fishing boats and families!). Women would be raised from their illnesses; one immediately after her recovery began to make Jesus lunch!

One thing was common when Jesus was in town...people heard truth. People saw the light. People were rid of their infirmities. People were witness of the miraculous. People were transformed. Heart change happened wherever Jesus was. Troubling thing was...all of this was not enough.

"Teacher, we want a miraculous sign from you."

Have you ever made any similar demand? You might have thought Jesus would have agreed to this, but instead He said;

"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!" Matthew 12:39

What more did Jesus have to do to validate His Messiahship? What other 'sign' did He have to deliver that would be more convincing than the teaching or the track record that He already had established throughout the region...time after time? What an amazing request. What an alarming response.

Jesus would go on to say that the 'sign' of all 'signs' would be His victory over the death and the grave, but even then, others...to this very day, demand more evidence that He is who He says He is by demanding a 'sign'.

Read your Bible some. Let His teaching sink deep into your soul. Look around you some. Witness the lives that give Him glory for His grace and redeeming touch. Look ahead a bit. Anticipate your meeting Him when you too continue your life after this life.

There's your 'sign'!