Reading the Signs of the Times
“[Jesus] answered and said to 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 shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”
Matthew 16:2-4
My wife and I love to watch the weather channel. For her, it is like a great adventure. “When Weather Changed History!” is one of her favorite shows. As a show, it symbolizes man’s interaction with the supernatural: 1) we are immersed in it; 2) we ignore it at our peril; 3) it can bring both blessing and calamity; 4) it can be studied but not mastered; 5) you can run but you cannot hide; 6) man’s machinations are subordinate to and far inferior to its power.
The weather can be embarrassing. At one time, I lived near our TV weatherman. One Sunday, while driving to church, I saw him shoveling four inches of “sunshine” (his prediction) out of his driveway. I tooted my horn and smiled in a pleasant (yet teasing) way.
On another occasion, I took two of my friends and their son out for a short boat ride on the lake. The wind came up and we never got out of the lagoon before we were swamped by the choppy water. Fortunately, it was only three or four feet deep and we were able to find their son who had slipped under the boat! I was (and still am) more embarrassed than the weatherman. Decades later, we are still friends and I have a much deeper boat!
Interpreting the signs of the times
The Scripture verse from Matthew 16:2-4 warns that we can predict the weather but we cannot interpret the signs concerning these times. It warns that people can be evil and godless and yet ask for a miracle. To be evil and godless is often to be sinning against the Ten Commandments, against God’s plan. His plan is to unite; the world, the flesh, and the devil are disobedient, divisive, and block the power of God for the miracle that is needed. Some hallmarks of our society are: negativity, slander, disobedience and division – godless evil.
So, to obey is to unite and usher in the power of God. To disobey is to divide people and to block the power of God.
Wait – together
“And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, ‘You heard from me.’”
Acts 1:4
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”
Acts 2:1
Two of the most difficult things for modern, independent, individualistic people to do is to wait, and worse, to wait together. Our fast food culture teaches us that waiting is bad, fast is good. Doing it “my way” is better than doing it “our way.” No one getting to tell me what to do is seen as better than being “bossed around.” Even good leadership can be interpreted as “lording it over us.” These postures or mindsets leave us hopelessly incapable of dealing with God who: 1) has tons of time on his hands; 2) wants to be together with us; 3) thinks that he is in charge of this family of his; and 4) thinks that he gets to decide how it is ordered. Because the first disciples were able to “wait…together,” we have Pentecost, the birth of the Christian church.
Unity – A Gift to be Preserved
“Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call”.
Ephesians 4:1-4
Clearly, unity is a gift of the Spirit, and it is a gift that we preserve and we maintain. We make decisions in our lives in a way that respects unity and protects it. Again, we use the little discernment test: Does this decision yield more community (unity), or less?
One modern approach to Scripture
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, says the Lord”.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
A number of years ago, I had a long, serious, almost fatal battle with knee surgeries, infections, etc. My daughter, Jeanette, gave me a poster inscribed with the Scripture verses shown above. It was quite encouraging hanging from the wall where I could see it from my bed. My friend, Bill, sent the same Scripture passage to me in an email assuring me that the Lord had more for me to do.
Another encouraging Scripture verse that often gets printed on posters is from Revelation:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20
Personal at the expense of the corporate
Most Scripture passages can have a beneficial, encouraging effect on the individual (as in my example above). Due to our great division, isolation, and individualism, we often personalize Scripture verses at the expense of the corporate dimension being addressed.
The Scripture verses cited above were actually written to groups or to a people. In Jeremiah 29, verse 14 says, “I will gather you in from all the nations.” So it is not originally intended just for my bedroom wall! Revelation 3:20 (Today’s English Version) is written to the church at Laodicea … Christians! Verse 21 follows: “To those who win the victory, I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne.” Verse 22 says, “Listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
One more example: it is Our Father, not just my Father, at the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer. Keeping the sense of “our” in my prayer orientation has a joining and a uniting effect on the body of Christ. It deepens our awareness and appreciation of the familial nature of Christianity and diminishes the tendency to over-personalize and isolate the individual. Because of the culture we live in and the way we live (often isolated in our homes), it would be difficult to over-emphasize the corporate nature of Christianity and the unity that is at the heart of God’s plan.
There is something mysterious about unity and fruit, as in Jesus’ story about the farmer who plants a seed, does his part, and then does not really understand why or how it grows (Mark 4:26-27).
God’s plan, as Scripture reveals, is corporate, with unity in Christ as its goal. Yet, it has personal effect, application, and responsibility.
This short article is excerpted from The Fruit of Unity – Living Together in Christ, by Bob Tedesco. Click to read the full-length article.
Top image above: Two edge sword over a red sky, from Bigstock.com, © by mdorottya, stock photo ID: 36666940. Used with permission.
Bob Tedesco is a profound teacher and prolific writer on building Christian family life and community in the light of Christian truth, Biblical wisdom, and the call to live and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Check out his previous articles and books in the Living Bulwark archives.