Read Mark 8:11-13

11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

12 When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” 13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake. (NLT)

There are two mistakes we can make when it comes to miraculous signs from God. One is to assume they can’t or don’t happen. Jesus did quite a few but that was then, this is now. That time has passed. We have the Bible; Jesus has done what he came to do, so the age of signs is dead.

Such a view tends to assume too much. Who says that the possibility of miraculous signs is dead? Given that they point to the character and mission of Jesus, why can’t they still do so today when Jesus is no longer physically present among us?

Then again, other veer in the opposite direction. They want such signs to boost their faith, to provide some sort of guarantee of God’s supernatural power. In some cases, they seek signs to short-circuit their own thought processes. They expect God to step in with supernatural guidance on a regular basis.

The problem here is that for most of life situations we don’t need such intervention. We have the general sort of guidance provided by the Bible. If more specific guidance is needed then God can certainly provide that. But sign-seeking as a way of normal decision-making is unwise. After all, signs can be ambiguous.

In the end, we can both be open to the provision of miraculous signs, and yet not demand they pop up all the time. After all, if miracles become commonplace, they cease to be miraculous.

Blessings
David Reay

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