| “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” |
| —Luke 2:8-9 |
“You know,” the person in the next airplane seat said to me, “I might consider becoming a Christian if only God would give me some kind of sign.”
I smiled at his comment. But, inside myself I thought: Be careful what you ask for.
Throughout Scripture, and even today, we find a number of individuals who are looking for a sign. In most cases, they don’t receive the sign they are looking for because it is not a part of God’s plan. In some cases, they’ve already received all the evidence they need to take a leap of faith. And, still they want more. They want more information than God has already given them. In contrast, the shepherds gathered with their flock on the hillside above Bethlehem were probably not looking for a sign when the event recorded in Luke 2:8-11 occurred:
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Sometimes the ones looking for a sign do not immediately receive it. In other cases, those who did not at all seek a sign receive the very sign that pushes them in a new direction.
The Apostle Paul was one of this latter kind. He thought he was doing God’s work by persecuting the new Jewish Christians. Then, God met Paul on the road to Damascus and revealed the Lord Jesus to Paul in a startling way—a way that turned Paul’s world upside down.
As we begin a new day, instead of looking for some new sign, let’s look around us and consider if God has already given us all the information we need to have. Hasn’t He shown us His mercy, love, and grace? Hasn’t He kept us safe as we go about our daily work? Hasn’t He blessed us in countless ways? Hasn’t He helped us through the trials of life that we all must face? I think the answer is “Yes! Yes, He has!” So, let that be our sign. But, let us also not be surprised that, when we least expect it, God might very well give us a sign that will turn our world in a totally new direction. Just like He did for those unsuspecting shepherds on that long-ago night.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, December 27, 2016
