“how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.“
Hebrews 2:3-4 ESV
I am a firm believer in signs and wonders and miracles. God has so many ways that He shows up and blesses us! When we carry our message to a jaded and hostile but hurting world, I am convinced that we must have the power of the Spirit to demonstrate that Jesus is truly alive. Arguing with an unbeliever about the truth of the Bible, or creation science, or any one of a hundred political or philosophical issues is time wasted. But one touch from the Master changes everything.
Jesus and the Apostles gave us a number of things that we could point to as signs that Jesus is who He claims to be. Sign #1 was included with a command that Jesus gave at the end of the Last Supper:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 ESV
In fact, Paul went so far as to say that if we don’t have this sign, the others are all useless:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-2 ESV
Until we get the love sign right, the rest are just noise. The sight of a group of people from all demographics gathering under one common banner is wonderful. The realization that these people all love one another with a sacrificial love with no respect of race, age, gender, or social position is transformational for the cynical observer. Let’s start a signs and wonders campaign today by going to church and just loving one another. It’s a sign that makes the world wonder.
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