A simple question reveals much

I recently heard a question asked to a small group of kids: If you had three wishes, what would they be? The answers varied, but it got me thinking what my answer would be. It is a very difficult task to take on but I think I finally broke it down to three things that would help not only me, but the rest of the world too. Selfish thoughts are what come first; and maybe my three wishes are selfish too, but I tried really hard to pick things that were smart and worthy of only three things. So here we go.

Wish number one: that my family would be financially stable the rest of their lives. This was the best way to take care of my wife, children and future grandchildren. I could have put a numeric cap on it but I have no idea what the future actually holds and what it will take to be stable in generations to come. So to just say “stable” seems not only prudent, but responsible in these unstable times.

Wish number two: that no one would feel the pain of losing a loved one ever again. I have lost people early in life and I know many many people who have lost children, relatives and close friends long before their time should have come. This can, and has, devastated families. I personally know the long-lasting effects to a heart that feels it has been robbed of a life before a proper life has been lived. I am not wishing that no one ever dies. I am wishing that the feeling of a major loss is not felt. People will live their lives out and when the time is right they will pass away. No more sudden death and out-of-the-blue losses. Selfish? Maybe, but I have seen what it can do to generations and generations when a key figure in our families is ripped away before anyone is ready.

Wish number three: I thought long and hard about how I worded this. Here is what I settled on: that everyone on the planet would know the Truth. Confused? Yes, I can see how you might be, but I will explain a little bit. Just a little, though, because this is a Truth that you must discover for yourself.

There are other words I could have used. I could have said Jesus, Faith, God or a relationship. But the simple truth is that Truth wraps it up nicely and, well, is the Truth. I have talked to many non-Truth knowers over the years, and sometimes it is just about telling them about what the truth is in the Bible in contrast to what they have been told or what they see on the local news. Some think it is just an old book that has no real relevance in this day and age. But if we were to be totally honest, it is more relevant today than ever before. A real case can be made that our world started going to, well, the opposite of heaven when we started putting that book on the shelf and refusing to let God into every part of our daily worlds. We continuously put God in a box and only pull it out on Sundays and when it’s convenient. Then we turn around and say, “What is wrong with our world today?”

Let me put it to you in a different way. Have you ever heard of the “Blood Moons?” Search it. Have you ever heard of the book of Revelation? Read it. We are living in the final days. The signs are obvious and they are all around us. But here is where you must do something for yourself. Search your heart, talk to those you think are Godly people. Reach out; read that family Bible. Truly listen to what you hear without the rose-colored glasses of the world. The Truth is out there or, more importantly, already in you. Just waiting for you to grasp ahold of it and take it for a ride. It is a great ride too.

Honestly we might not even need wishes one and two if we had number three. The world would be a much different place too, kind of like heaven on earth. I was challenged this week to try and reach as many people as I could with the Gospel. I was already going to write about my three wishes, and I had already decided what my wishes were. But I heard a voice Sunday that told me to be even bolder this week. That voice was not a challenging word of a local pastor or elder either, it was the voice of Truth.