The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side. (Mark 8:11-13)
This verse kept echoing a song from childhood summers at church camp: “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love… yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
Because my gut says, “is love all ya got???” I want a SIGN—some great feat of awe and wonder to prove God’s love. Something showy. But what greater sign than the quiet power of love in the human heart? When I stopped asking for a sign and started BEING a sign, it broke my heart wide open. I found a newpower to see the presence of God in the frustratingly imperfect faces of everyday life—in you and in me. Instead of looking for our differences, I began to look for our “highest common denominator.” Suddenly, God was no longer “out there”; His spirit dwells in me. And surprise! The more freely I give of what I found—the ordinary love of my ordinary heart—the greater my capacity for ordinary love has grown. The more gentleness I have for the world, the more gentle I become with myself.
I know I’m a Christian by my love. Who needs a sign?
Today may I work to BE a sign, rather than look for one. May I throw myself in people and find myself in You. Through Christ, may I be known by my love. So be it.
Wendy Moses — Powerless, Recovered, Loving