A Hungry World

             I don’t know why we might be surprised to hear reports of spiritual hunger and openness in our society.  God created us to fellowship with Him, and until we enter that relationship, we will be incomplete.  This is not new.  This is not rare.  Consider the Apostle Paul on his mission visit to Athens.

 “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.  For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’  What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

 I have heard several folks wringing their hands and worrying that people in our country don’t believe the fundamentals of the faith any longer.  People believe all faiths are equally valid, that Jesus was just another teacher, that there will be no judgment because God is love, and that sincerity validates every faith system.  They pursue in ignorance.  Christianity is rejected as an option more often because of hypocrisies and caricatures than other reasons.

 But this should not cause us dismay.  The message of hope through the work of Jesus Christ has always had to compete with human fantasy and convenience.  God has supplied ample support for the power of the gospel to save, apart from human effort or imagination.  For instance, Jesus’ grave is empty!  Many were well-motivated to discover His corpse, but it wasn’t there to produce.  How about all the genuinely changed lives that have shown others the power of Christian discipleship??  Time and again reports of kindness, grace, endurance, and love demonstrate that Jesus changes lives.

 In this hungry world, we push the food cart.  If we would simply love others enough to engage them honestly, without judgment, we might have the joy of satisfying their hunger with the food that never disappoints.  We have the information that can move people from ignorance to faith.  We simply have to begin to engage.  Please do so.