Exit Signs

On my way to work I see signs everyday. Some of them are confusing with messages that make no sense. Some of them have pictures and attempt to get me to buy a hamburger or a car or something else by attempting to stick an image in my head that will cause me to desire it and purchase it. Some of them are confusing because they just have too much going on. Yet, all of them are a metaphor for life and this world.

Many in this world are traveling down a road of destruction headed to a life of discontentment apart from Christ. Each of them see signs promising money, riches, fame, or simply satisfaction in the things of this world. Signs which entice, suggest, tempt, and create desire to continue on this highway to hell.

Yet, all along the way there are different signs. Signs which Christians post. Some of them are signs preventing sin. Signs like "Speed Limit 55" remind them not to do certain things. Don't drink. Don't smoke. Don't do drugs. Don't have sex before marriage. Some of these signs are helpful. They encourage a moral lifestyle but they are desperately lacking and I don't want my life to remain focused upon such messages.

Why? Because as Christians, I believe Christ calls us to be Exit signs. Exit signs are simple, clear, concise, and point to somewhere else. They typically consist of white letters on a green background. The only purpose for their existence is to point to a different road, a different pathway, a different destination. Therefore, I want my life to be an Exit sign pointing toward the Highway of Holiness (Isa 35:8).

Your life is your sign. It points somewhere. Your lifestyle is the decor of your message. It either adds to or detracts from your message. Your sign may be pointing people to pleasures of this world by showing off the jobs, cars, money, women, or things which you possess. Your sign can only point to that which you love the most. It can only show people how to pursue the things you have chosen to pursue. Therefore, most signs point to such things.

I want my sign to be different. I want it to be an Exit sign to point to Christ and Him crucified. I want it to reveal the fact that Jesus is alive. I want it to point to the resurrection and to the hope found within it. I want it to point to the One who can forgive, the One who can redeem, the One who can save.

What about you? What type of sign are you? Examine your own passions and pursuits in life. They will reveal your sign.

Joshua