See What God Has Done

Luke 11: 29-32

As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

There are moments in all our lives when we have attempted to make a deal with someone else. It may have been with family, friends, at work or most notably while shopping. How many times have we put all our efforts into obtaining the best deal? Perhaps, if we are honest, this is more routine than we would all like to admit. When we believe that we have gained a certain level of expertise, we may even afford ourselves the tile of “skilled negotiators.”

Luke captures a moment when the crowd is pressing Jesus for a sign. There were numerous individuals in the crowd that needed Jesus to give them a sign before they would give Jesus their faith. They were bargaining, negotiating, and maybe even demanding for Jesus to provide a sign that would satisfy the questions that were circling about Jesus. Our moments of bargaining, negotiating, or demanding are often disguised acts of manipulation.

When we seek to bargain with God, we will find ourselves constructing a quid-pro-quo relationship with God. If God does something for us, we will then do something for God. Prayerfully we will on this day and in the days to come recognize what God has done for us in offering God’s self to us.

prayer

Thou who art the Eternal God and our Father, hast set before each of us an untraveled way full of beauty and mystery, and calling for courage and the spirit of adventure. Grant us Thy kindly light to lead us onward. To the youth of this day in all nations, give us a vision of thy purpose for their lives; and to us who are older, grant a return of the wonder which was the glory of our youth and which as we beheld it brought Thy light into our hearts. Oh, let not the wonder fade or the light become darkness, lest we lose our way. In His Name. Amen. (Prayer- Rekindle Our Sense of Wonder, John Malcus Ellison)