OK, you come to this stop sign and what do you do? Which sign takes precedence? Good question! If you obey one, then you disobey the other; no matter what you do, you are wrong! There are a lot of things like this in life and sooner or later you will encounter them. For instance, how to discipline your children without breaking the current laws, how to handle someones else's road rage, or what to do if someone butts in line ahead of you at the local Wallmart? The examples could be endless, but I think you get the idea. There are times when we simply don't know what to do. Then what? Consider just a few verses from the Bible:Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Joh 1:49 Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
The Webster Bible
The answer to these situations is both complex and simple. Complex in that every situation is different, yet one thing is certain, everyone can't be right (Judges 21:25). The simplicity of it begins with the realization of who Jesus is (John 1:49) and what that means to us. Once John 1:49 really impacts our lives, we are no longer without direction, but have guidance in our lives. A good question to ask ourselves is: What would Jesus do? What about the conflicting signs? Well, the bottom sign probably means there is to be no stopping along that stretch of road for safety reasons and the top sign means STOP!! So, STOP, but don't STOP (park) on the side of the road. How do I know this? Well, Jesus always looked for the reasons BEHIND WHAT WAS HAPPENING, that's how. Get to know him and try to think like him... you will learn to find the answers. That's why followers of Jesus are called disciples, (which means those who learn) they learn from Jesus. Stop, but don't stop (learning)!