Which Way Do We Go?

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:1-4 ESV). Mary and I are soon leaving to go to Washington D.C. We have both been a few times. I do clearly remember Dupont Circle. It was a nightmare trying to follow the signs and still blend with traffic! Fortunately, no one hit us and we didn’t hit anyone either! The signs were so hard to read. You may feel that way about the future, especially as it relates to prophecy and the Second Coming. That is the context of our reading today. One day, the Pharisees and Sadducees approached Jesus together, which was quite remarkable, because these two groups didn't get along. They didn't mix. They didn't hang out together. They were polar opposites on the theological spectrum. But the one thing they had in common was their hatred for Jesus. So they came to Him to test Him and demand a miracle. Now they had already seen numerous miracles. They had seen Jesus cast out demons and calm storms and heal the sick and feed thousands of people and even raise the dead. Yet they had the audacity to demand another sign. Interestingly, Mark's Gospel, commenting on this same event, tells us that after they said this to Jesus, He sighed deeply (cf. Mark 8:12). After all Jesus had done, after all of the miracles He performed, they were coming to Him and demanding another sign. Jesus told them they could look at the sky and read the weather for the future, but they couldn’t read the clear signs before them concerning the things they were supposed to be proficient in doing. They were the religious leaders of their day and yet they couldn’t read those signs at all. Many of us fall into that category. We anxiously look at the weather channel or the forecast on our local news station in the hope of knowing what the weather will do tomorrow, yet we don't give a single serious thought about our spiritual future. However, being prepared for the coming of Christ is so much more important than being prepared for tomorrow’s weather. We need to pay attention to the signs of the times around us so that we will be fully ready for Christ's return. What have you done to prepare for Him? Perhaps today you should begin at the beginning. Accept the grace of his redemptive work in your life and begin to grow so that you can reflect that grace for others to see today.