Sign, sign,
Everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery,
Breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that,
Can’t you read the sign?
In 1971, these were the lines from the Five Man Electric Man’s song “Signs.” As a young teenager, these words spoke to me. As an adult, they still have a ring to them. These words touch a cord in me and my scattered mind. What am I to be doing with my life? What direction am I to take? Is this the place where I should be? These may just be the questions of a mad man or a disciple trying to find his way in the world serving his Lord and Savior. But from what I see, there are a lot of directions to take in life and following the right course can be tricky.
Up until recently, I did think that I had lost my mind, particularly when it comes to theology and studying God’s word. When I was in seminary in the early 80s, there were a handful of evangelists who filled the airways. The schools of theology were mostly directed by mainline denominations. Certain theologians were viewed as dependable in their interpretation of the Bible. If denominations had differences, we respectively understood the reasoning each group took to get to their destinations. So, while there was not one vanilla favor that tasted good to all, at least, there was an understanding and a reasonable respect for how we each ended up where we were.
