Signs

This is a picture that I have taken every year for the past 4 or 5 years. It is a sign for me. It is the day that I consider that spring is really here. There are always little new buds on the trees, a little bit of snow left where there were deep piles of it, and this is the first day of the year that the sun rises through a little notch on the north side of Bear Mountain. It peeks through the little notch in the hills at 5:57 am for only a few moments then continues to rise behind Bear Mountain for the next three hours until it pops up over the top around 9:00 am or so. I have this week marked on my calendar and there seems to be a slight difference the actual day the sun actually appears in the little notch but so far it happens May 7-9, I know because I have been watching. I am sure this range of days has something to do with the extra quarter of a day that is built into out calendar per year but that is not the point.

This year, this event has merged with a question that has been hovering around me for the past few days. The question is, “What are the things that have my attention?” I have been reading the First Epistle of John for the past few days as well. The Apostle John’s writing is focussed on two things. First that we need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, second that we need to experience LOVE like He did. I have been forced to consider the things I love, the things I believe, and the things I am looking for. Jesus spoke on this subject very plainly to the religious leaders he was dealing with. The conversation is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 16 and has come to mind this morning as I have witnessed again my sign of springtime.

Matthew 16:1-4
The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, “ When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

This is a fascinating dialog. Jesus and the Apostles had been traveling around preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” and doing many signs and wonders, all of which were in the open and completely unprecedented in the Law and the Prophets. Yet the religious leaders evidently couldn’t see it. Or, maybe, the healing of thousands, the multiplication of bread and fish, turning water into wine, and the casting out of demons just didn’t meet the criteria of what they considered a “sign from heaven.” Whatever the problem was, Jesus was not what the Pharisees and Sadducees were looking for.

So, what am I expecting? I knew for certain that the sun would pop through the little notch on the north side of Bear Mountain some time this week, so I was looking for that so I could get my annual picture. But, what about the checkout person over at the local grocery store who has scoliosis in her spine that I have been praying for? Do I really expect her to be healed? What do I really believe? In Mark 16:18 Jesus says that those who believe will “lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” There are many other scriptures that make this statement, but is this really what I believe?

What would change in the world if we gave Jesus Christ our full attention? What signs are we missing because we don’t?

His kid, Your Brother

Ken