Imagine you are driving down the road. Another car is coming from the road to your left while kids are chasing a dog and getting dangerously close to the road on your right. There are four cars behind you and you see a young man helping an elderly lady cross the road in front of you.

You see the sign above.

What do you do?

Do you check to see if the paint is the correct shade of red? Do you ponder the use of an octagon instead of something simpler, like a circle? Do you check the angle of the sign post to see if it is straight or slightly askew?

Do you call your friends and tell them what the red octagon means? Do you pull out your phone and start researching stop signs?

Of course not. You stop.

If you waste time focusing on the sign, you miss the point of having the sign there to begin with.

You might even miss those in danger around you.

What if the kids keep running as the dog crosses into the street? Or the elderly lady stumbles and falls before she reaches the end of the crosswalk? What if the car to your left misses the sign and keeps going through the intersection?

The sign is there as a warning. Stop. Look. Notice your surroundings.

Is this what you do?

Even spiritually?

Lately I’ve seen a lot of people fascinated with the signs of the end times. Some biblical prophecies have indeed come to pass. Other interpretations are completely out of left field. Either way, though, it shouldn’t matter.

The SIGNS were never meant to be our focus.

The ACTIONS were. Stop. Look. Notice your surroundings. There are people everywhere in danger of an eternity without Christ. It’s our job to show them the way.

The more time we spend looking for signs and talking about signs and, even worse, ARGUING about the signs, the less time we have to lead others to Christ.

Forget the signs. Take action!