SCRIPTURE: Genesis 8
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
(Read my reflection from 2008)
When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. [Genesis 8:11]
The dove, just a bird, yet for Noah this bird came to represent something more.
The dove with the olive leaf, now an enduring symbol for peace and hope.
For Noah, it was both a practical sign – as in, finally this flood is ending.
But it was also more, it was a confirmation that God had not forgotten or abandoned him, that God was actively working to make things right.
Just an ordinary bird, yet a symbol of hope and peace!

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ [John 1:32-33]
The dove comes to symbolize hope and peace in a new and deeper way.
As with Noah, for John the dove represented God at work, God’s power entering into the misery of our world to bring us hope and peace.
And that the dove rests on Jesus is God’s confirmation that He is the one to restore God’s hope and peace.
To see Jesus is to see God’s promise confirmed, the fulfillment of all signs and symbols ever given.
He is the key to God’s presence revealed and God’s power unleashed.

How many more symbols are there, that seem to be just ordinary things.
Like the water of baptism, or the bread and wine, or a cross, a fish, a mustard seed, etc.
Like Noah we need to look beyond the symbols to the realities they represent.
The symbols are shadows, not the real thing themselves.
Jesus is the real thing, the presence and power of God wt work among us.
We can use signs and symbols to help us remember, but we should not worship the signs and symbols, or forget where their real power lies.
We cling to Jesus, not the cross; we are strengthened through Jesus, not by the bread and wine; we are cleansed by Jesus, not the water of baptism.

Are there other signs that you can see today that are reminders to you of all that God is doing in your life?
A sunrise, a butterfly, a rainbow, a child’s smile, a loving embrace, a rock, etc.
Just ordinary things, yet when we see them through Jesus, they become powerful reminders of all that He is, and all that He does for us!

PRAYER:
Lord, help me to see things today through eyes of faith, and to be encouraged by the signs of Your love that occur around me all the time!