1 Peter 2:11-12 (The Message)
May we be encouragers, always indicating the way to the
only true, peaceful Home! "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't
make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.
Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their
prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the
celebration when he arrives."
Watson Lake, Yukon, renowned for its Sign Post Forest, is
nothing but a small village filled with hotels and sign posts.
In 1942, a homesick soldier named Carl K. Lindley of
Danville, Illinois decided to erect a sign that pointed the way home. He even
indicated the mileage to his hometown. With the possibility of a Japanese
invasion in Alaska imminent, he and thousands of other American troops had been
working on the construction of the Alaskan Highway, and like all of the other
GIs, he was tired and longed to return home.
It didn't take long for his fellow GIs, and later,
travelers of the Alaskan Highway, to follow his lead, that one sign had grown
to over 75,000. The town now maintains the site, erecting more and more
signposts as they are needed.
In 1992 Carl K. Lindley and his wife visited the site, 50
years after the first post was erected They must have been astonished to see
how one little sign had grown into an entire forest!
All of us leave signs behind, indicating the way to where
our hearts lie. To some, it is to casinos, as indicated on one of the
tombstones near where we live. To others, it is to wild parties, and to still
others, it is to jobs, as even on holidays their minds are still focused on
their work's to-do-lists.
I have to wonder what kinds of signs we, as Christians,
leave behind. Do our "signs" always point the way to heaven, where
our heart should be? Or have we been distracted from our real purpose in life?
"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do
not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt 6:20-21 NIV)
Remember, once we erect our sign, others will follow our
lead. Will we be leading people to life? Or will we be leading them to the
ensnarement of sin and death? "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a
sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage
one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be
hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Heb 3:12-13 NIV)
It only takes one sign! What kind are you busily putting
up?
Dear Lord we pray that the sign we are putting up today
would be the sign that leads others to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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