Signs

Todd Johnson, the pastor of my home church, has been going through Matthew 24. He is taking a little time off from the life of Christ to focus on the signs of Jesus' return. One thing (out of many things) that stuck out to me today was his statement that
"We are not to be more concerned with the signs [of Jesus' return] than with the Savior." He then quoted Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Pastor Todd was saying that in the end, it all comes down to what we believe about Jesus. There are so many different theories about the end times, but what do we believe about Jesus? The signs of the end times are not so important as the One to which they point. The sign is not the thing itself, it is the thing that points one to the Savior. A question that Pastor Todd asked was this:
With the end in sight, what am I to do for Christ today?
And I ask, What can God change in me in order to be a more effective sign for Him?
More about signs, I recently thanked a friend for telling me something I needed to hear. He replied that it wasn't he who was to be thanked, it was God. He (the friend) was merely a signpost, pointing to the One who was truly important. This conversation came to mind while Pastor Todd was talking about signs this morning. Christians are to be signs, pointing toward the Savior. It is not to be, "Oh, look at me, look how I just helped you! You're welcome, so happy to be of service to you!" It is to be, "I'm glad that God used me to point you to Him. He is the One who gave me the words to say, and all credit goes to Him."

So how are you doing as a sign? Are you using your conversations to turn others to Christ or to yourself? or to silly things? or to crude things? Or what about your life/attitudes/actions? Is your life pointing to Christ or to something else? I do not say these things lightly, and I do not believe we as Christians are to be stoic, boring, pessimistic people. We can still have fun, and if we aren't having fun, then something must be wrong (not to diminish trials)! : ) But let's not be distractions in life. I say this to challenge myself more than anyone else. Where are we pointing today and every day?