Signs, Punctuation, and God

Genesis 12:  

The Call of Abram

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's householdand go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." 4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. 

I love signs.  Signs point to something other than the letters or symbol that we see.  For instance, along the highway we can see a six sided red piece of metal on an 8 foot post and the words do not have to be there, we know it means stop.

Sometimes the signs we put up for traffic control can be confusing because of the lack of punctuation.  When I was teaching in middle school,  I tried to emphasize the importance of punctuation in their writing skills.  I would ask my classes, "Why do your parents have signs erected in your neighboorhoods indicating children in that community are slow?"  Of course they would ask, "What do you mean?"  I would then show them a sign similar to the one herein.  Next, they would say, "Mr. Coggins, that means to slow your driving".  Finally, I would explain that, for the sign to mean what they told me, a comma was needed after the word "Slow" to change it to a commanding verb.  As the sign reads, slow is an adjective modifying the word children, thus, the sign technically reads that there are slow children playing  in the neighborhood.

Then I would ask them about the sign "Slow Speedbump Ahead".  They would laugh and understand why it was confusing.  I would tell them I watched a speed bump one day for two hours, explaining, "You know, it did not move, the sign was wrong as it was not slow, it was stationary!"  We would all laugh and they (for the most part I hope) understood why commas are important.  And yes, some silly goose in the class would ask if I really stared at a speedbump for two hours.


But, there is one sign that Christians and most other people never mistake.  It requires no explanation, it is instantly recognized.  Of course, I refer to the Cross of Christ.  In the sign of the Cross, God did not need punctuation, He made it clear to us, Jesus knew His future and did not fail.  In the Cross, Christians see the Love and Promise of God and in time we know God does not break His promises.  In the Jews, we can see He keeps His promises, even today, the promise to the Jews is being fulfilled, the Jews of today live in God's promises to Abraham, they have their land once again.

In the promises of God, we know we can trust the promise of Jesus.  God Loves Us, Jesus suffered for us and in His suffering He redeemed us, He saved us, and He gave us the Holy Spirit.  We know the Truth of Jesus because if for no other reason, He was raised from the dead.  But, the Cross goes beyond that.  Jesus in His death gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us everyday.  In the experience of praying daily for the Holy Spirit to fill our lives we also know the promises and blessings of God are our daily personal experience.

Recently, I saw a bumper sticker that said it all.  

This sign had a Cross on it with the words
         "In Everything Trust God".

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Jesus prayed often, we should follow His example for in our prayers we demonstrate our trust in Him.

"To have the Holy Spirit in your heart, pray.... and pray..... and pray.... often, Everyday"

Thanks be to our Glorious Loving God.