Signs on Life’s Road

By Gil Killam –

My wife and I were travelling by car through the Rocky Mountains in BC listening to a radio talk show when we heard this story:

A woman phoned into a talk show and asked why the signs of warning for animal crossings were placed in that location. The talk show host answered, “I think they are there to tell motorists to be careful not to kill the wildlife.”

She said, “I mean, why do they put them in the places where there is heavy traffic?” She went on to say that they need to put them in places where there was less traffic so the animals could see that was a safe place to cross the road. Incredibly, she was serious! We laughed! This conversation went viral on YouTube.

As we continued on our journey, I began look at the many signs we were passing: moose crossing, slow, stop, rough road, bridge out, slippery surface, curve, steep hill, blind driveway, detour, dead end, hiking, skiing, road narrows, construction, two way signs, uneven road conditions, flag man, stop, road washout, exit, information, food, motel, merge, speed limit, icy road, no stopping, obey all signs, fallen rock on highway, blind hill, driveway, bed & breakfast, police, lookout site, etc. These signs are for us! Many of these could apply to life’s road.

These signs were not there to make our trip miserable but to protect us from danger and wrong decisions. To ignore them could be disastrous. If we think about it each one of these signs could apply to signs on our life journey. For example, when we feel tiredness it may be that God is telling us we need to “slow down” or “stop”. When we see a sign of “slippery surface”, we need to take heed. God by his Holy Spirit cautions us to watch for dangers in the road we are taking.

When the Pharisees & Sadducees were asking for a sign, Jesus replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:1-3 NIV). In the book of Matthew, Chapter 24, Jesus gave many signs to look for that indicate His second coming to earth so that we would be ready to meet Him.

God has given us all kinds of signs that point us in the right direction, stop us from going down the wrong road, or protect us from danger: we should therefore take heed. The handbook for a safe and successful journey in life is the Bible.