Reading the signs

This week's verses are Luke 12:54-59:

Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time?

“And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!”

Jesus is talking to the crowds who have gathered to see miracles and to hear him speak. He's talking about the changes that will happen to their world after the crucifixion. In the same way that we can predict a storm or a heat wave based on what the weather is like outside, they should have been able to see Jesus' life and message as a sign of what was to come.

We can predict the weather in a simple sense, because we know our surroundings. We live here. And we know people who have lived here longer than us. Through observation and experience, we know that a gray sky usually means it will rain. Our experience and our interest have given us the ability to predict what is going to happen and to take appropriate precautions, like packing an umbrella or bringing the laundry inside.

So if we can predict the weather without trying, why is it so difficult for us to see the spiritual signs in the world around us? What Jesus was implying to the crowd was that they should have been equally aware of what was about to happen, the same as they would in reading the weather. Based on what they had seen through him, and what they should have known from studying the scriptures, it should have been as obvious as rain that the rules were about to change and that there were things to be done to prepare for it.

So, given that we are in a bubble of grace that exists between the old testament law and the end of the world, what do we do? Will we need an umbrella for that too? That's where the second paragraph comes in. Jesus tells us how to judge for ourselves what is right for this time we live in now.

He says to make peace with our accuser. In other words, admit your sin, change your behavior, and do what you can to make things right. Just like you wouldn't let your neighbor take you to court and get you thrown in jail if you could make friends with him and settle out of court for less, you shouldn't let your sin go unhandled. In other words, we should go to God and settle accounts.

When he says to judge for ourselves what is right, it's probably because each of us has our own sins to confess. It doesn't do any good to tell the guy who isn't committing adultery to stop committing adultery. Each of us has our own sin. Quite a bit of it usually. Are we going to argue about it?  Or are we going to beg for mercy and make changes?

We live in the most wonderful time of history since the garden of Eden. Are we aware of that in the same way as we would be aware of a sunny summer day? When the weather grows cold, do you ever find yourself wishing you'd spent fewer days inside watching TV and more outside while you could? It will probably be like that for a lot of us in the end, wishing we'd gone to God while there was time, wishing we'd learned a little more while things were easy.

Be aware of the times we live in, and thank God we are able to live during this season. Take advantage of the light to set things right with him and enjoy the warmth of his friendship. Soon enough there will be darkness and we will wish we had taken better precautions when we could.