Signs have been a part of human culture for as long as human culture has been around. Whether it has been symbols painted on the wall of a cave, an inukshuk in the arctic wilderness, stained glass windows in a cathedral or a billboard alongside the road. Signs and symbols are a part of how humans communicate with one another.
Signs tell us where to go and where not to trespass, direct us to where to find nourishment, where to fuel up, and where to get some rest. We tattoo signs on our bodies and we wear signs to declare our tastes, our culture, and our allegiances. Researchers say it’s possible we glimpse up to 30,000 signs and images a day and that we actively engage with around 3000 images on screens, on signs, on cups and cartons, on bodies and on billboards.
Humans are prolific propagators of signs but we did not invent this method of communication. God was using signs long before humans came up with logos. Rainbows, manna, the parting of the seas, fire in the sky and rain on the earth all served as signs to point people in the direction of God. One of the most definitive signs in the Old Testament was a list of ten commandments written on tablets of stone. These tablets of stone were clear signs meant to direct the people of God in the direction of God.
No matter how great a sign those stone tablets were, prophets and priests predicted a time in the future where an even greater sign would be given. There would be time when people would no longer need stones kept in a temple or a pillar of fire in the sky to point them in the right direction because the Word would become flesh and dwell among them in the person of Jesus Christ.
This Word was not meant to be the only word to take on flesh, but rather served as a paradigm for all those who would follow after Jesus. God’s word would no longer just be written in stone but would also be written on people’s hearts, not with ink, but with God’s spirit. Those that followed Jesus would become fleshed out signs pointing people in the direction of God, people who are willing to live out the good news in tangible ways, not just speaking words but taking action.
This year North Park’s campus theme is “What is a Life of Significance?” Through the work that we do together this year we hope that together we will find significance in being a sign that points others in the direction of God. We hope you will join us for chapel at 10:30 every Wednesday as we work our way through a variety of themes such as influence, a global perspective, work ethic and community, so that together we might be equipped to let our lives speak loudly on behalf of God and his kingdom work.
This morning we invite you to gather with us as we come around the Lord’s Table for communion, to receive his Spirit and to ask that he might write on our hearts. We also invite you this morning to join us in prayer for our students. As has become our custom at the first chapel we invite you as faculty and staff to join us as we encircle the students and offer up prayers on their behalf. I encourage you to join us as we seek to be a sign for our students; a sign that points us clearly in the direction of God, the ways of God’s people, and the work of the kingdom.
I’m looking forward to living a life of significance with you this year,
