Lost?

The hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes--so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them (Acts 28:27).

An old farmer up in New England was standing outside his place, leaning on a fence. A smooth young fellow from New York City rolled up in a shiny car and asked the way to half a dozen different places, one after the other. To each request for directions, the farmer had nothing but the same gruff reply: "I don’t know." Finally the young man, thoroughly exasperated, put his car in gear while muttering, "You don’t know much, do you?" To which the farmer straightened up with a twinkle in his eye and drawled, "Anyway, I ain’t lost!"

We live in a world of information. Between Internet service, 24/7 news channels on television, newspapers, magazines, libraries and radio broadcasts, people have access to more information than at any time in history. But for all of that knowledge, there are many politicians, sociologists, educators and philosophers who agree that our generation is more confused and lost than any known to history.

What good is it to have a college education if you don’t know how to live your life in service to others? What good is it to be able to earn a high income if you don’t know how to forgive your spouse? What good is it to build a space station if you don’t know how to build peace between warring people? What good is it to know how to clone a human if you don’t know that life is sacred? What good is it to be able to add ten years to a person’s life through advances in medicine if those years are lived alone and in ignorance of Jesus’ love?

Having knowledge does not guarantee wisdom. Being educated does not guarantee that one will make smart choices. A friend of mine once said: "all a computer does is let you make your mistakes faster." In an age of limitless possibilities, we have more possibilities than ever before to get lost, make mistakes. People are committing crimes today that were impossible to commit even 50 years ago. This is why, more than ever, we need Jesus—we need His wisdom, His compassion and His strength. His message has not changed; believe in Him, reject sinful things as poisonous to your eternal health, and dedicate yourself to caring for God’s children wherever you might be. Let Jesus take you by the hand, and you will never be lost.