DEAR REV. GRAHAM: As you look back over your life do you think the world is in better shape than it was when you were young, or is it worse? And what do you think it will be like 100 years from now?
-- V.G.
DEAR V.G.: Only God knows the future, of course, and ultimately our future is in His hands. However, I pray for a better world for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and I hope you will, too.
In some ways, today's world is better than it was when I was a child. I think, for example, of all the advances that have taken place in medicine; many of us wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for them. Things like the Internet or television or jet airliners were unheard of only a few generations ago. God has given us an amazing ability to harness nature and create new things for our use.
Tragically, however, we haven't always used our God-given abilities to make a better world, and in many ways the world today is worse. Think, for example, of the countless millions killed in wars during the last century. Terrorism, drugs, gang warfare, corruption, random violence, pollution, weapons of mass destruction -- the list is almost endless.
What is our real problem? Our real problem is within us -- within our own hearts and minds. Paul's indictment of his own generation is true of ours, as well: "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity" (Romans 1:29).
This is why we need Christ, for only He can transform our hearts and give us the desire to do what is right. And someday He will come again to destroy all evil and make the world a perfect place. Do you have faith and hope in Him?
Write to Billy Graham in care of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28201 or visit the website at
billygraham.org
ActiveStyle on 05/19/2014