Mixed Signals

Drunk driving is a scourge across much of the world today, and Australia is no exception.  As I've been driving around more, I've seen something that to me sends a mixed message:  drive-through liquor stores.  No joke, simply drive up to a stall and the alcohol is brought to you.  The wonder of modern convenience!

Another interesting factoid is the scarcity of "Stop" signs.  I have been in Australia for three weeks as of tomorrow, and today I saw my first "Stop" sign.  Instead of where "Stop" signs would be, there is a triangular white and red sign that reads, "Give Way," the Australia version of the "Yield" sign common to the USA.  Instead of lights or four-way-stops, the "Give Way" sign adorns countless left hand turns and roundabouts.

In thinking about the difference between "Giving Way" and "Stop" signs, "Giving Way" is subjective and "Stop" is objective.  I think human nature happily gives way to outside influence, like sand cliffs under a Southern California beachfront property!  We don't want to stop.  We want to choose our own way.  We don't want a law that demands exact compliance!  Stopping is not subjective.  You either come to a complete stop or you don't.

The world is always influencing us to "Give Way" for worldly wisdom, philosophy, and "anything goes."  Sometimes it can be confusing when we have all this worldly influence pressed into our minds.  I praise God for the "Stop" signs He has put in my life.  I can tell you that without God's boundaries and limits, I would happily be on my way to hell!  I have seen my transgression of God's perfect law, and it is only through faith in Christ that I can be forgiven and saved.  That is why we must remain grounded upon the solid Word of God that does not change, and build upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ.  Those who hear the words of Jesus and do them are likened to a man that builds his house upon the rock.  The "foundation" of this world is sand that will give way under the slightest pressure.

"Stop" means "Stop."  God's Word is holy, righteous, true, and does not alter.  Like the One who authored it, it cannot and will not ever change.  That is Good News, Gospel truth to those who have ears to hear!