Signs and Wonders

I was inspired by this quote from Bill Johnson's book When Heaven Invades Earth. “signs have a purpose. They are not an end in themselves. They point to a greater reality. When we exit a building we don’t go though the exit sign. The sign is real but it points to a reality greater than itself."
Throughout my life I have constantly found myself with believers that are taught that the gifts of the Holy Spirit no longer exist, but they are hungry for them. One of the arguments I have heard time and time again is that they are not orderly and fit within the confines of the scripture and therefore signs and wonders can lead people astray. I love this idea that we do not exit through the exit sign, but through the door. The sign points the way to the door. It is the enemy's tactic to keep us from utilizing the powerful tool of signs and wonders to point people to Christ.
I learned long ago that the power of God can be messy but it can also be fun. God does have a sense of humor and loves to love us and reveal Himself to us in ways that are personal and fun. Since I am on the topic of signs... I will never forget the first time I saw God as personal and humorous. I was 9 years old and up to now I had always associated God as distant and loving but serious. My little sister (5 years old) sat on the edge of my parent's bed asking me where the hole was that the angels had gone through. She proceeded to tell us about how the previous night she had seen 2 angels. One had flown over to my mom's pillow and stuck a black sign with green letters on it. They had both disappeared through the ceiling. While her seeing the angels was amazing and fun my mom was more concerned about the sign the angel put on her pillow. She later told us that she had asked God the night before for a sign (for something she had been praying for). God in His sense of humor gave her a literal sign. When she asked what the sign said my little sister responded, "I don't know...I don't know how to read." God went out of His way to honor her request, but with a little sense of humor.
Signs and wonders are the key to unlocking people's hearts. There are so many that are desperate to know that they are important and matter. We not only do disservice to Jesus and what He did on the cross but also to the people we come into contact with when we do not allow the use of signs, wonders and miracles to point the way to the "door" Jesus Christ.