What Are You Waiting For?

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Scripture:

Mark 8:11   The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him.  12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”  13 And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

Observation:

Jesus had just fed the 4000 and there were seven baskets full of food leftover. This was amazing and the people who had listened to his preaching were astounded at what he was able to accomplish. His love and compassion was being revealed in his daily activity resulting in transformed lives.

The religious leaders weren’t all that happy with what he was doing. This was not the kind of Messiah they were seeking. Instead they expected someone who would act like Moses and they were probably looking for signs similar to the plagues of Egypt. Jesus was a disappointment to them because he only healed the sick and fed thousands! They wanted to see hail, frog, locusts and death. Without the kinds of signs they anticipated, they would not believe in him.

The signs that were being performed at the hand of Jesus were not to convince the religious or government officials to let the people go. Jesus came to bring peace and save those who were lost. His signs were ones to draw people to God, not to scare leaders into submission. The Pharisees had it all wrong and the sign they were waiting for would never come. They had misdiagnosed their own personal need and in the process were missing out on everything that God had for them. They were waiting for the wrong thing!

Application:

Preconceived notions of the way in which God is to act will get us in trouble. We may find ourselves asking God for a particular sign when that sign may simply not be the way in which God is intending to act. We become so obsessed with the sign that we forget about the purpose of our journey, and that is to know God.

Jesus’ activity and the signs performed at his hand were a revelation of God’s love toward humanity. His acts were an invitation into a deeply intimate relationship with our holy God. This is the goal of life, to fall in love with God and to draw so near that we reflect the Image to the world.

If were were honest we might realize that we would find ourselves right there with the Pharisees looking for some big sign. Sometimes when it comes to making decisions or simply trusting God we want a big sign from heaven when all the while Jesus is right there beside us, loving us, and taking care of our daily needs in miraculous ways. We may simply have our eyes on the wrong thing.

We don’t need the big signs, we need to fall in love with Jesus. God’s prevenient grace is reaching out to us on a daily basis, drawing us closer to him. His desire us for us is to live in holy communion day in and day out and he is providing all that we need for this to happen.

Waiting for the big signs becomes a distraction from what God wants to accomplish in our lives.

What are you waiting for?

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the sweet and gentle ways I experience your love and care on a daily basis. Amen.

If you would like to read more "Reflecting the Image"  click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.



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