Scrambled Signals

Sam Rainer

I love my satellite radio, and I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps it is the sheer volume of choices – like a kid in a candy store with eyes that are bigger than his stomach. You can even tune into traffic reports from halfway across the nation. Perhaps it is the transformation that has occurred in me during my daily commute – I now enjoy it. Road rage manifests itself only occasionally now. For whatever reason, the little silver box mounted to my center console has become somewhat of a catharsis. And as a researcher I love access to information, specifically the ability to plug quickly and effortlessly into streams of news coming right through my truck speakers. More times than not, though, I end up parked on the country station, pitifully singing along to a song that I only halfway know. But at least there are no commercials!

The problem with satellite radio is that the signal can be lost at times, particularly when you pull next to a truck driver or another car that is listening to a radio station close to the frequency of your satellite radio. The noise that comes through the speaker ends up scrambled as two signals compete for the same air space.

I think we try to listen to God this way sometimes. Like the person talking on the cell phone, changing the radio dial, tapping the Blackberry, and sipping the coffee all while weaving through 3 lanes of traffic to make the exit, we don’t sit still and listen. Then we complain because we don’t think that God is speaking clearly to us.

But God speaks with astounding clarity. God neither speaks in secret, nor in a land of darkness. He is totally truthful. It is us who do not listen clearly. We create background noise. We become too busy to be still.

In the year 1900, it is estimated that there were about 30,000 atheists in the US. By 1970, that number had grown to 200,000. In the year 2000 there were 1.15 million self-professing atheists. By 2025 there will be 1.6 million. Even though it sounds like a large segment of people, atheists represent only 0.4% of the population, a very small figure.

Of the 301 million people living in the US currently, only 1.2 million don’t believe in God, which means the residual 299.8 million people say they that God exists. With such an overwhelming number of people saying they believe in God, one might be inclined to think that there is a revival in the land. Unfortunately, such is not the case.

How can so many people claim to believe in God, yet not know Him? They must be believing in something. Without a doubt, the signals are scrambled.

There is a lot of interference. Daily lives are filled with busyness. And Christians are just as guilty as anyone else. Only God can reveal Truth. In fact, He gave us his Word so that we might know this Truth. So much out there in the world can get confusing. But God is not a God who overcomplicates. In fact, Christ said it quite clearly, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The gospel message is so simple. And we need to live out this simple message so that others will see it clearly in us.