A Sign from God

"If you ask God whether you should cheat on your wife, don't consider a couple of falling stars or a billboard saying "Just do it" as a sign from above.”

-- Simeon Visscher, musician

I loved this sign, shown above.  This is what I'd expect from an omnipotent God, a loving God, with a sense of humor.  If I asked God to help me bail a sinking boat, I'd be looking out for a tin cup and another leak to immediately appear as an answer and a sign of God's sense of humor; a way to keep me humble.  I'd just look up to the heavens, smile, and saying my usual response to the Almighty, "Understood.  I have it from here.  Thank you!"  I always say God must be a woman because only a woman would have this much humor at my expense.

We get signs from God constantly and are too wrapped up in our own issues to notice.  I've learned to put selfish concerns aside.  I've learned to take notice.  For instance, did you wake up this morning?  This is a sign from God that you have another day to excel in life.  Did you see flowers in full, gorgeous bloom, a sunrise with a multitude of colors, or birds splashing away in the birdbath?  This is God's way of welcoming you to another day in paradise, another gift of life.  What you do with the rest of your day, your gift of life, is now on you.  Embrace it!

“When you know that something's going to happen, you'll start trying to see signs of its approach in just about everything. Always try to remember that most of the things that happen in this world aren't signs. They happen because they happen, and their only real significance lies in normal cause and effect. You'll drive yourself crazy if you start trying to pry the meaning out of every gust of wind or rain squall. I'm not denying that there might actually be a few signs that you won't want to miss. Knowing the difference is the tricky part.”

-- David Eddings (1931-2009), author, "Belgarath the Sorcerer"

I guess that's the whole point.  Life is on you.  It is yours to embrace or ignore.  God gave us his son, Jesus Christ, and God also gave us Buddha, Muhammad, even Joseph Smith.  God gave us all the tools to make our lives righteous, and yet we keep going back to the trough selfishly expecting more.  We have to understand that sometimes we are meant to fall down, to fail, to learn some lesson from the fall and then get back on the horse to try again.  If you succeed, that may very well be, in and of itself, a sign from God that you're on the right track.

If your company burns and explodes, is this a sign from God?  If it happened prior to all the people arriving for work, did you consider this another sign from God and, perhaps, a miracle to boot?  If so, then what was the destruction of the twin towers supposed to tell us?  What lesson was that massive loss of life about?  Was it to remind us about humility?

I'm one of those people who have a hard time reconciling a coincidence.  Maybe the Twin Towers was a reminder to us that there exists absolute evil in the world, lest we forget, or become too complacent.  Or, maybe it was a sign that we are on a poorly defined path, a way to bring us together as a whole, to make us understand something greater which we keep missing in our selfishness?  It makes your brain hurt until you take a step back and see what's happened in New York since 9/11.  And then, it becomes tomorrow; emotions dull and attitudes change.  Politics take over, again, and people slip right back into the old complacently selfish "do for me" attitudes, driven by the political agendas of those who have anything, but the well-being and safety of their own constituents, as their motive.

"Sign, sign, everywhere a sign. Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?"

-- Five Man Electrical Band, "Signs" (1971)

Trying to find a sign from God is difficult if you can't take a step back to see the "big picture,"  and then keep your eyes wide open.  All too often we are caught up in emotions, unable to step back, or not wanting to understand the logic of it, wanting only to blame God for everything bad in our lives.  Our lives.  If we can learn to open our eyes and think for ourselves, when we step back we will realize those trees in front of us are actually the forest we thought they were blocking.

The miracle for all of us is waking up, every morning, to life and opportunity we have been given to excel in for another day.  If you muck it up, tomorrow is yet another day, another gift, and another chance to do right.

Life is good.

“I come to a red light, tempted to go through it, then stop once I see a billboard sign that I don’t remember seeing and I look up at it. All it says is 'Disappear Here' and even though it’s probably an ad for some resort, it still freaks me out a little and I step on the gas really hard and the car screeches as I leave the light.”

-- Bret Easton Ellis, author, screenwriter, "Less Than Zero"

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.