Bus without a conductor

Last weekend, I was flipping through the pages of my husband’s old journal. No, I was not sneaking... He was sitting right next to me J. I was reading in random. One of the journal entries caught my attention. This one was about a bus without a conductor. I was particularly fascinated because I’ve never been in one. However, as a kid, I used to imagine what would happen if the bus leaves before the conductor boards the bus.

My husband used to commute to office by bus. That morning, he had boarded the public bus at the busstand, to get to his office – close to 1.5 hours of travel ahead. Driver got into the bus, started it and drove a few kilometres, without realising the conductor hadn’t boarded the bus. After a while, the passengers from the back of the bus started shouting to the driver that there was no conductor! Baffled (probably also embarrassed), the driver stopped the bus, asked the passengers to get down and take a different bus to their respective destinations. He must have driven back to the busstand or waited there for the conductor to come! What more can be done in a bus without a conductor?

How often, we act like we don’t need anyone to run our lives! We think we can direct our own lives. Like a bus without a conductor can’t fulfil its purpose, life without Christ (Who is the very purpose of our living) cannot fulfil its purpose.

“... all things were created by Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16b)

Looking for Signs?

It was a moment of ecstasy for King Solomon. “He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.” (I Kings 3:15b) Who wouldn’t be delighted after such an encounter with God? God appears to Solomon in a dream and asks him what he wants. You would know the rest of the story. Solomon asks God for wisdom. God is pleased with his request and grants him not only wisdom, but also riches and honour. (I Kings 3:5 – 15) Don’t we wish something similar would happen to us? We all like to experience God in a supernatural way. Of course, God does reveal Himself supernaturally to specific people in specific circumstances. Based on what? We do not know. But, it would be a mistake to measure ‘our righteousness’ based on such experiences. It is wrong to think “because I did something good, God gives me visions.”

Moreover, supernatural experiences do not guarantee obedience. “The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.” (I Kings 11:9). Or take the example of the Israelites. They rebelled against God though they witnessed miracles every day of their journey to the Promised Land.

The rich man about whom we read in Luke 16:19 – 31 thought his brothers would repent if someone from the dead tells them the Gospel. But he was wrong! “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (vs. 31) All that we need to know are already revealed in the Word of God!

Others look for signs and wonders to test God. We know Jesus’ reply to that: “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” (Matthew 16:4a)

Paul describes his supernatural experiences in II Corinthians 12:1-5. But, he chooses to boast in his weakness rather than in visions and revelations.

It is good to have supernatural experiences. But, our basis remains the Word of God and obeying His commands. “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28)