No One Shared the Gospel with Me
BY KEITH MATHISON | When I see young people running away from God, acting in the most offensive ways they can imagine, I see my younger self.
You wake up in the morning, scratch your back and stretch. You grab some coffee and then sit down to read the news. The first story that catches your eye includes a photograph of people doing something that makes your blood boil. You grit your teeth and mutter something under your breath and then share the link with your friends on your favorite social media site with some choice comments.
You decide to go shopping. While walking through the local store, you see a group of teenagers. They are brash, loud, and obnoxious. Several of them have multiple tattoos and piercings. The band logos and art on their clothing are offensive to you. They cast a sneering glance at you as you walk by. You can feel your blood pressure rising. You pull out your phone and write a quick tweet about how much you dislike the younger generation.
I was one of the lost people we see every day.
I could go on, but the point I want to make concerns our attitude as Christians towards the lost people we see every day. This is important to me because I was one of those lost people, and not once did any Christian even attempt to talk with me about the Gospel of Christ. I’ve often wondered why…
If I was young, I'm 79, and had to lean on contemporary religious views of God, I would very possibly reject God and religion just as the majority of the youth are doing. After serving in Vietnam, and being disabled and retired from the Army, I was fortunate that I found a Christian religion that I could connect with. I can thank my maternal grandparents and mother for the connection. However, my religion is way off the "normal" for interpreting Christianity. What pulled me toward it somewhat was when my grandfather told me that Albert Einstein had favored the religion but had never openly declared it. I thought, hmmmm, and looked into it. Okay, I found my religion and have been working on my Christian ethos ever since. However, my present religious views reinforce my understanding as to why the youth are rejecting standard religion whether Christian or otherwise. What is the solution? I don't really know because the religion I am attached to is suffering the same youth rejection issue. My belief is that ultimately everyone will see the light of the Christ-Truth here on Earth or hereafter. So, we do our best to demonstrate the essence of divine Love, which God is, and let the rest take care of itself.