God Sighting | December 24, 2008

I was back in Fremont visiting friends and family over Christmas and made the usual stop at Brad and Lisa's house. One of my friends, Brian, was watching the TV show "Home Improvement," so I sat down and started watching too. Knowing he was trying to get a position within the local police department, I asked him how he fared his latest bout of qualification tests. He replied that the results were less-than-stellar, particularly with regards to the reading comprehension portion. Immediately I was reminded of a similar conversation I'd had with him months before, having suggested reading the Bible regularly as a way to improve reading comprehension (and getting exposure to the word of Christ, of course), as it had helped my own reading comprehension skill over the years. But as that memory played through my mind, I wondered to myself, should I suggest it again? Would it be just another weightless, or even offending, suggestion? Caught in the tension, I went ahead and again suggested that Brian read the Bible--very short portions, but on a regular basis. "It's boring and hard to understand," he began to reply, but was interrupted by a flashy, impeccably timed, 30-second commercial in which the announcer was exclaiming "If you have questions about the Bible, text [such and such a number]!" As we both turned our heads to watch, I couldn't help but think that I had never before seen that commercial. Since I don't tend to watch much television, there was the possibility that the same commercial had already aired numerous times, so I started to brush it off as coincidence. But just before all inkling of providence emptied from my mind, Brian blurted, "I have never seen that commercial in my entire life! Can God speak through TV???" I laughed and laughed, hardly able to reply "Yes!" I couldn't have given a more persuasive presentation than what I had just witnessed!

What a startling reminder that God can use burning bushes, talking donkeys, mud made with spit, and even television sets to affirm actions that are taken in faith, all so that people would honor and trust in Jesus, the Creator, Sustainer, and Savior of the world.