- Photo courtesy frankieleon/Flickr.
Moment of vulnerability here: I have looked up some embarrassing questions on Google.
What does “YOLO” mean? Is butter a carb? Which ocean is the Pacific? Is it bad if your engine smokes? What is a Bronie? Who is Justice Beaver?
I mean come on, be honest, haven't you? (P.S. Most of the above examples are only for dramatic effect, please don't judge me.)
I remember in the 90s and early 2000s when people said the Internet was just a fad. Well, I sort of remember...I was in my elementary and middle school years so my cultural awareness wasn't the sharpest. But man, were those people wrong.
The rapid advancement of the internet has created a fascinating cultural climate. I know it's cliché, but we really do have a world of information at our fingertips – more information than we even have the capacity to comprehend.
And so when we have a question, what is the first thing most of us do?
“Google it.”
We turn to the internet for our ordinary, mundane, and sometimes embarrassing questions. But we also look to this infinite store of knowledge for answers to life's most complex moral, intellectual, and spiritual quandaries.
I read an article from Relevant magazine that ignited this train of thought for me.
Using Google's autocomplete feature, the people at Relevant Magazine looked up what questions people are most frequently asking about God, Jesus, Christians, sin, and salvation. I scrolled down the page absorbing this information with curiosity. It truly is amazing to have such a peek into the collective mind of our culture.
But there was one question that stopped me in my tracks.
“Does Jesus know me?”
Tears began to well in my eyes. Curiosity changed to heartache. My heart sank as I thought about how many people out there asked this question.
Does Jesus know you?
Oh yes, He knows you. He made you – your flaws, your strengths, your quirks – and He loves you. Oh how He loves you. He knows everything about you, every heart ache you've felt, every tear you've shed, every joy you've celebrated, down to the number of hairs on your head. He knows you better and loves you more than anyone; you cannot possibly fathom how well He knows you.
And oh, if you only knew how much He longs for you to know Him.
This sat heavy on my heart. I felt a sobering clarity about the mission to which God has called me, to reach people for Christ in the digital realm.
Because people are looking. They're looking for answers about who God is, and what He thinks of them, about whether or not there's a purpose to life and if they matter in it.
And they're looking on the internet.
If people are on the internet looking for answers, then we need to meet them there with the Solution. And we would be foolish not to utilize such a significant, enormous opportunity to tell people about the Savior who is looking for them, too. Though He is never really far from anyone.
To help people know Jesus, visit everystudent.com.
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