Signs and Wonders

N.T. Wright in Surprised by Hope

When you read the book of Acts, the most consistent mark of the growing church, second (yes, second) to sharing the story of Jesus' resurrection, was signs and wonders. You see that phrase over and over as a description of how the church was living, and as a consequence of that living, the Church grew.

The Resurrection wasn't just a story but it was something the early believers personally lived. They healed the sick, they cared for the poor, they sold everything and gave stuff away for the betterment of the community, they fed the hungry, they opened their homes to one another. Signs and wonders. Signs and wonders.

Perhaps, these things were less miraculous and spiritual in nature, but instead were physical and emotional as men and women radically lived in a way that put others before themselves at any cost. Instead of just claiming a "hope" that it would come later when Jesus returned, they actively participated in the resurrection of all things here and now.

Where are the signs pointed to in your life?

Are there wonders in how you live that are putting the resurrection on display?

Put another way: if your church closed tomorrow, would your community care?

Would they notice? Or if you moved tomorrow, would you neighbors care? Would your community miss you?

If the answer to those questions is no, you're not living out the story of Christ's resurrection and you're not living in Jesus' Kingdom.