What Chance Do They Have?

Psalm 119:126 - "It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law."  

Traveling from town to town and having talked, encouraged, and worked with thousands of teens these past three months has really enlightened me to the fact that without Christ these teenagers have no chance at all.  

This next April will mark ten years since the Columbine High School massacre.  On April 20th, 1999, two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 23 others, before committing suicide.  I am writing today from Littleton, Colorado, not even fifteen minutes away from that very same high school.  

Eric and Dylan were two young men who, much like millions of other teenagers today, were discontent with what life had to offer them.  They were angry, cold and bitter.  They decided to express their anger by inflicting death, pain, and suffering on innocent people.  Without dispensing grief to those who have suffered, I will say that Eric and Dylan are really not an exception in their anger and bitterness.  They are just marked by their unconventional reaction.

Today I talked to well over 250 teenagers, many of which are searching the answer to life and its problems.  Many teenagers look for it in alcohol, drugs, immorality, and suicide.  A small percentage have or will find it in Jesus Christ.  Christ, whose work on the cross is the atonement for all our sin, fills that void that is so many times occupied with Satan's deceptions. 

Yes, a small percentage do find Christ, but thousands are falling into hell every day.  Jesus said to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  That means God's will is not always done on earth.  Friend, God's will is that every man comes to depend upon Christ for salvation.  While God's will is debated or disregarded by many Christians, there are a few that will stand in the gap and tell the lost at any cost.  What would it cost you to tell your neighbors about Jesus Christ?  How about your co-workers?  The most it could ever cost you is your life.  The Apostle Paul said "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

“He was not willing that any should perish”;
Jesus enthroned in the glory above,
Saw our poor fallen world, pitied our sorrows,
Poured out His life for us, wonderful love!
Perishing, perishing! Thronging our pathway,
Hearts break with burdens too heavy to bear:
Jesus would save, but there’s no one to tell them,
No one to lift them from sin and despair.

“He was not willing that any should perish”;
Clothed in our flesh with its sorrow and pain,
Came He to seek the lost, comfort the mourner,
Heal the heart broken by sorrow and shame.
Perishing, perishing! Harvest is passing,
Reapers are few and the night draweth near:
Jesus is calling thee, haste to the reaping,
Thou shalt have souls, precious souls for thy hire.

Plenty for pleasure, but little for Jesus;
Time for the world with its troubles and toys,
No time for Jesus’ work, feeding the hungry,
Lifting lost souls to eternity’s joys.
Perishing, perishing! Hark, how they call us;
Bring us your Savior, oh, tell us of Him!
We are so weary, so heavily laden,
And with long weeping our eyes have grown dim.

“He was not willing that any should perish”;
Am I His follower, and can I live
Longer at ease with a soul going downward,
Lost for the lack of the help I might give!
Perishing, perishing! Thou wast not willing;
Master, forgive, and inspire us anew;
Banish our worldliness, help us to ever
Live with eternity’s values in view.

Dylan and Eric

The Thirteen Victims

Cassie Bernall, Corey DePooter, Matt Kechter, Daniel Rohrbough, Isaiah Shoels, Steve Curnow, Kelly Fleming, Daniel Mauser, Rachel Scott, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez, Coach Dave Sanders