WHO CARES?
A student in a huge multiversity flunks out. Who cares? A punch-press operator
in a sprawling factory dies in a rush-hour traffic accident. Who cares? A
tenant in a modern high-rise apartment commits suicide. Who cares?
Depersonalization, estrangement, isolation, the lonely crowd - these are the
terms that characterize our age. We play the role. We pretend that it doesn't
matter. But inside we're alone, desperately alone.
We seek acceptance and identity in strange ways. We join street gangs, beatnik
societies, bridge clubs, peace marches, protest groups, country clubs, service
organizations, even churches. Yet we remain dissatisfied, unfulfilled,
unloved.
Beneath our thin facade of sophistication we battle disconcerting doubts,
haunting fears, and crippling anxieties. Silently we cry out for someone who
will listen, who will understand, who will care. Many of us conclude with the
Psalmist of old, I look to the right and watch, but there is none who takes
notice of me; no refuge remains to me, no man cares for me.(1)
Is there, then, anyone who cares? Is there perhaps someone beyond the world
who cares? Is there even anybody out there? If there is, is it possible that
He, the great infinite God of the universe, is even aware of the individual
member of the species homo sapiens on His microscopic planet Earth, let alone
concerned?
Jesus Christ - who, confessedly, must be a liar, a lunatic, a legend, or the
truth - once asked, What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul? (2) He plainly implies, in other words, that the
soul of one man outvalues the combined worth of all the world's treasures.
He asked, moreover, Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them
will fall to the ground without your Father's will. But even the hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many
sparrows. (3) Not only is the God of the universe aware of us, He has numbered
the hairs of our heads.
Jesus asked, finally, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost
one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after
the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it
on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his
friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found
my sheep which was lost.' Even so, I tell you, there will be more joy in
heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine [self-] righteous
persons who need no repentance. (4)
To God, the individual matters, matters so much that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (5)
Jesus said, I am the good shepherd; I know my own any my own know me, as the
Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
(6)
To become one of "his own" you must abandon the facade and admit you, too, are
a lost sinner. You must repent of your sin, be willing to turn from it. You
must ask Jesus Christ to become your Savior from sin. You must invite Him to
become your Shepherd, and your Lord. You must ask Him to make you a child of
the heavenly Father. You must believe that He will.
To deny God's ability or longing to meet your deepest needs is to deny the
authority of His Son. It is to deny the unanimous testimony of His children
down through the centuries.
To accept His offer of love is to find your hope for real peace and real
assurance in this age of insecurity. To do so is to find authentic personal
identity. It is to find a Friend who has said, I will never fail you nor
forsake you. (7)
Who cares? God does. He sent His Son to die for you. He raised His Son to live
in you. He brought this message to you.
Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. (8)
John S. Oldfield
Bible References:
l. Psalm l42:4
2. Mark 8:36
3. Matthew 1O:29-31
4. Luke 15:4-10
5. John 3:16
6. John 10:14-15
7. Hebrews 13:5
8. I Peter 5:7
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