As I was browsing through the pages of a Chinese reviewer for my upcoming written examination for a driver’s license, it reality struck me that despite having had a driving experience for a little over than 20 years, a lot of traffic signs are still too foreign for me to understand or even guess its meaning.
And just like what any driver would admit, traffic sign always play a vital role in ensuring a safe and fast way to reach one’s destination. Ignorance or even an honest mis-interpretation can only end either in getting lost and prolonging one’s journey or signing a violation ticket from a law-enforcer. Total disregard can inadvertently lead to accidents that may lead to a loss of limb or even life.
There are four main categories of these traffic signs – red warning signs, yellow proceed-with-caution signs, blue directions and green destination information. Each has a distinct color for a specific objective with some slight variations, yet with the same singular aim of helping us to reach our destination.
Road travel and life-travel are basically the same.
We are all travelers, voyagers, tourists, trekkers, movers, immigrants, nomads on this life. And just like any person on the move, we are always on the look-out for signs that will lead and keep us in the right path back to our eternal home. God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that without His guidance, without His “signs”, we will all turn out to be drifters and wanderers in this world, without the slightest hint of where we are or where we are headed.
Red signs
These are the clearest signs of all that needs our unequivocal obedience. Do not have other gods other than Him. Do not take His name in vain. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. The demarcation line is drawn with utmost clarity. There is no “except” and “as long as” condition that follow each sign.
Yellow Signs
We have to admit that we live in a world of ambiguity that focuses on a singular person’s right over what is truthfully right. Abortion is optional. Gay marriage has a growing acceptance. Euthanasia is a form of merciful kindness, to name a few. Some people tend to blur the line between right and wrong based on a person’s “right to choose”. And for good people to keep silent, tolerant and almost indifferent when these things happen, we are definitely being called back to review and understand the red warning signs, to speak out and be heard against these veiled violations of God’s signs. We all need re-direction of our paths.
(Writer’s note: It is with these haziness and sometimes outright disregard during the interpretation of God’s signs that I am particularly glad to belong to the Catholic Church whose authority has been passed-on through centuries by the apostles under the headship of St. Peter. Because between my less-informed and sometimes confused conscience and these college of bishops (also known as the Magisterium) who devoted their entire lives to knowing God’s ways, I would rather listen, believe and obey the latter’s interpretation because God’s spirit undeniably works in them.)
Blue and Green Signs
As much as we need to know things to avoid, we also ought to know alternative things we must do in order to grow in spirit. We need directions of what is right and pleasing to God. Keep the Sabbath holy. Honor your parents. Pray. Give alms to the poor. Read the bible. Join and be active in a religious community. Offer your time and talent to the needy. Attend retreats and seminars. Reflect and contemplate on your purpose in the world.
We are all traveling on the same road of life, no doubt about that. But whether we are on the right track or have skirted off can only be determined by us when asking ourselves this important question – “Have I been following His signs and directions for my life?” If the answer to that question is a resounding “yes”, then we will be at peace. If it is an undeniable “no”, then we have the option to pause, stop, and trace back and correct our direction.
By ourselves alone, it may appear impossible to get back on track, but with God’s love and graces, the road to recovery, though narrow and bumpy, is very possible.
I believe they call it “Yield”.
But for us who long to know our pathway to God, it simply means humility.
God bless.
