Today’s Reading: Luke 11:29-36
Today’s reading from Luke follows Jesus on his preaching journey on the way to Jerusalem. Written in about 60 AD, Luke sets the scene:
“When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah” Luke 11:29
So basically, not much has changed in the last nineteen hundred years. We are just as focused on the desire to be uniquely blessed. Everyone wants to have a special experience that sets them above others in terms of their salvation and closeness to God. We ask for signs and look for signs in order to confirm the validity of our faith in Jesus. Jesus points to the sign of Jonah as a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection. Just as the prophet Jonah was rescued after three days in the belly of a whale, Jesus will die and rise after three days. God had asked Jonah to preach the importance of repentance to the Gentiles. Jesus is now affirming Jonah’s message; salvation is not only for the Jews but for all people. This specific part of Jesus’ teaching got me thinking about how we too seek for signs in our modern everyday life. I loved the sermon we had last week at Eastview when Pastor Jordan Rice talked about turning to the “big G in the sky….Google!” Although I laughed out loud, his insight spoke to my heart. As a medical professional, I am so guilty of turning to science to solve a problem before turning to the big G: God.
In our generation we are always seeking proof. We want evidence of that which we cannot plainly see. In Jesus’ day, the people demanded signs. When Jesus healed a blind man, his doubters demanded another sign, more proof that he was the Messiah. Are we perhaps demanding the same? Are we satisfied by the gifts he’s given us, the miracles he’s performed in our lives? Are we able to truly say, “Christ IS enough for me!”
Jesus goes on to teach about the light within us:
“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” Luke 11: 34
In this moment, Jesus is holding the light of the gospel for us all to see. Those that reject Him and his message have poor vision. That lack of clarity turn the light of Christ into darkness. In contrast those who receive Christ by faith are filled with light. The lamp is Christ and the eyes are representative of our spiritual relationship with him. Sin distorts our spiritual vision. It blinds us to the ability to see God at work in our lives. I challenge us as we focus on our own relationship with Him to work toward identifying sins that are blinding us to life with Him. Pray intentionally for eyes that are healthy and ask God to fill your body with light.