I’m very troubled by what is happening to children these days. When I was young, the problems seemed less intense and less prevalent. The problems at home pretty much stayed there and the problems at school where dealt with the teachers and principal. I had problems in both places and, from my experience, they rarely crossed over.
Today, there is so much pressure on children. They are being taught so much and so fast. And yet, they aren’t being taught the basics. The school systems have even decided to stop teaching cursive writing since everything is typed today.
That might be true, but if you want to read original historical documents as they were written, you had best know how to read cursive. It’s almost as if the powers that be want to keep people from reading the lessons of the past.
It also means that these children will not have an identifying signature. Printed letters can be forged easily while cursive writing is much more distinctive and forgeries are fairly easy for experts to detect. How will these children be identified? Will they be assigned a number? Will they somehow receive an electronic implant that identifies one from another?
One wonders what is next. Will they simply stop teaching children to read and write at all as, by that time, you will be able to listen to lessons and input your answers verbally. Will only a certain class of individuals be allowed to learn to read and write and gain the knowledge, insight and critical thinking that comes along with reading the written word?
That reeks of a class of rulers and a class of those who are ruled. Those who are allowed to learn and those who are kept in place by lack of knowledge.
This has happened before. One need only to look to the Medieval period. The peasants were kept in bondage because they didn’t know that there was anything else for them. The ruling class may have had its share of individuals who didn’t bother to learn but that was their choice. The information was there waiting for them.
William Tyndale was burned at the stake for daring to translate the New Testament of the Bible into the common English language. Why? He did so so that everyone could read the message of freedom and salvation available to them. They could read that, in God’s eyes, we were all equal. The act of translation was called heresy and he was killed for it.
Today, it is easy to see that the ruling class of that time was threatened by the message of the Bible being put in the hands of common folk. We know this because we can read the history of the story. Without being able to read, our children will be back in the position of the peasants of yesteryear. The simply will not know.
That troubles me immensely. We learn from our past mistakes. We learn from our past triumphs. Without knowledge of the past, we seem doomed to make the same types of mistakes over and over again.
The mistakes today can, and probably will, come with a greater consequence. We are a people who can create global catastrophes. With very little effort, a devastating world war could be started which could wipe out most of humanity as well as other life on the planet.
That doesn’t surprise me, actually. When I read the Bible, I see that just such a time and day is coming. There will be a day when mankind uses its weapons to destroy much of the life on earth.
There is nothing that can stop it as it is what mankind has been barreling toward. We have been on this path since the Garden of Eden. We Christians can keep praying that God bring the message of salvation to the whole world. We should pray that anyone who will be saved before the Great Tribulation comes upon us, will hear the message of Jesus Christ.
It is our job as Christians to spread that message. It is good to help the poor, to give shelter, food and comfort to those who need it. It is also true that the most precious thing you can do for an individual is to share the good news of salvation.
The Bible tells us it is better to lose the body than to lose the soul. That applies to everyone regardless of their station in life and what their worldly needs are.
My church is trying to reach individuals by doing things for them. Loving them when it is the least thing that they expect. They are showing Christ’s love to them. The only problem is that many of the congregants are hesitant to share the message of salvation.
Helping the poor is good. Feeding their body is necessary. Christians are very good at sharing and helping. I can’t imagine what this world will be like for that brief time in which Christians are no longer able to help. It will be a terrible and desolate time. A time when it is person against person. The hate and anger that fills the soul of those who are left will make the world a horrible place to live in.
Just remember, feeding the soul and spirit is the most important thing you can do. Sharing the love of Christ in what you do for others is good. Just be sure to share the message of salvation while you are doing so. Just tell them about Jesus. Don’t force it down their throats or make it a requirement for them in order to receive assistance.
I know that, for the most part, I am preaching to the choir. However, for a sizable number of Christians, this is a message that is needed to be heard. Don’t be afraid to witness to individuals. All you have to do is tell them about what Jesus has done for you. It is called your Testimony. Just share that and it will be heartfelt and, most times, listened to.
There will others who resist hearing and so, stop talking. Either you are not the one to give them to good news or they have hardened their hearts and necks and will not listen to anyone who speaks of God. I feel bad for them as God will only strive with an individual for just so long. After that, unless there is something so devastating that happens to them that makes them seek God, it will not go well for them.
The one sin that God cannot forgive is an individuals failure to accept Jesus as their savior. That is what, in the end, will doom people to an eternity of suffering.
Let’s do our part to reduce that number. If the message is not told, then it cannot be heard.
Romans 10:9-15
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”