Depersonalization, estrangement, isolation, the lonely
crowd-these are the
terms that
characterize our age. We play the role. We pretend that it
doesn’t
matter. But inside
we’re alone, desperately alone. We seek acceptance and
identity
in strange ways.
We join street gangs, organizations, societies,
bridge clubs,
peace marches, protest
groups, country clubs, service associations, political parties
and even churches.
Yet we remain dissatisfied, unfulfilled,
unloved. Beneath our
thin facade of sophistication
we battle disconcerting
doubts, haunting fears, and crippling
anxieties. Silently we
cry out for
someone who will listen, who will understand, who
will care. Many of us
conclude with the Psalmist of old, I look to the right and
watch, but
there is none who
takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me,
no man cares for
me. (Psalm 142:4)
Is there, then, anyone who cares? Is there perhaps
someone beyond the
world
who cares? Is there
even anybody out there? If there is, is it possible
that He, the
great infinite God of the universe, is even aware of the
individual member of the
species homo sapiens on His microscopic
planet Earth, let
alone concerned?
Jesus Christ-who, confessedly, must be a liar, a lunatic, a
legend, or
the truth-once asked,
What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the
whole world,
and lose his own soul?
Mark 8: 36). He plainly implies,
in other words, that the soul
of one man out values
the combined worth
of all the world’s treasures. He asked,
moreover, Are not
two sparrows
sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to
the ground without
your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all
numbered.
Fear not,
therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
(Matthew
10: 29-31).
Not only is the God of the universe aware of us, He has
numbered the hairs
of our heads.
To God, the individual matters, matters so much that,
He gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should
not
perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
To become one of "his own" you must abandon the facade and admit
you,
too are a lost sinner. You must repent of your sin, be
willing to turn from it.
You must invite Him to become your
Shepherd, and your Lord. You must
ask Him to make you a child of
the heavenly Father.
You must believe
that He will. To deny God's ability or longing
to meet your deepest needs
is to deny the authority of His Son. It is to deny the unanimous
testimony
of His children
down through the centuries.
To accept His offer of love is to find your hope for
real peace and real
assurance in this
age of insecurity. To do so is to find authentic
personal
identity. It is to find a Friend
who has said, I will never fail
you or forsake you.
Who cares? God does.
He sent His Son to die for you. He raised His Son to live in
you.
He brought this message to you.
(John S. Oldfield,
Abridged)
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