Part 1
The opportunity to start driving is one of the milestones of the teenage years. I remember well the day I could get the first stage of my license. Depending on where you live, you would call it your permit or your beginners. I pored over the little book that prepared me for the first written test. That little book contained every road sign imaginable. Road signs are vital to driving. They point you in the right direction and prevent you from getting lost. They prevent chaos and disorder on the roads. Road signs mean life or death. If you misunderstand the road signs, you put yourself and others around you in peril.
This truth about road signs is no less true for spiritual life. Without clear signs to point us in the right direction, we are and will remain lost. Navigating out of the mess of sin requires signs that point us away from sin and ourselves to Jesus, who is the Way to eternal life (John 14:6). Navigating life without those clear signposts is spiritually suicidal. What “road signs” must you look for? Jesus gives several of those signs in the Gospel of John. The next few articles will examine each sign and we will see how they point us to Jesus again and again in His sufficiency and grace to be the Savior of young people and to deal with every challenge you face.
John introduces us to those signs in John 20:30–31: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his dis- ciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Typically, you never read the back of a book first unless you want to spoil the story. That is not true of beginning at the back of the Gospel of John. These verses are the thesis statement, as it were, of John’s entire Gospel.
In other words, the entire contents of the Gospel of John are signposts to Jesus. The word for signs in these verses is also the word for miracles. The word signs gives you an important clue in how to read and interpret the Gospel of John. Each miracle, of which there are seven, is a signpost that points you to Jesus as the all-sufficient Savior.
The purpose of these signs, as John writes, is so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Let’s break that down for a moment. These signs are recorded in the Gospel of John so that you might believe that Jesus is the Anointed One, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Is He Lord of your life? Is He at the center of every decision you make? Is He your life? These signs are also recorded so that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the One who is perfectly God and man in one person. Do you see in Him the power to save your soul from sin and death? By our believing in Him as the One who came to make atonement for sins and obey the law, He gives eternal life. Here are road signs that mean life or death. Will you pay attention to them in order to find Christ?
Achieving your license and an understanding of road signs is a major milestone in your life. But becoming an heir of eternal life is much more important. Understanding the road signs that point to Jesus is more crucial to avoid death and destruction than understanding road signs on the highway. Getting your license might elevate your standing with your friends, but believing in Jesus gains you a solid standing with God. Let’s follow these signs to Christ.