I’ve been tempted to start a new column called “Shocking News” or something to that affect. Had I done so, here’s something that would have made the headlines. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 34 percent of Americans “didn’t know who Darwin was or what scientific theory he was known for.” Another 10 percent said they did, but they gave incorrect answers. Only 55 percent correctly associated Darwin with the theory of evolution!

To me, that is mind boggling! Nearly half of the people in America don’t know what Charles Darwin is known for. Although the public schools bear part of the blame the problem goes deeper than that. Most people today have no desire to be well informed, unless it has to do with the lastest flick, video game, or gadget,etc. We are seeing the “Dumbing down” of America.

Not only are most people ignorant of the Bible (our biggest problem), they are ignorant of many other important issues as well, such as our American heritage, etc. It’s no wonder that we are in such a mess! And if you think a bunch of unregenerate politicans are going to solve our problems you are wrong. The only hope for America lies in the two institutions that God founded–the family and the church. Considering the present condition of these, the future doesn’t look very bright.

The good news is that we can still do the most important things. We can tell the world about our wonderful Savior and through our witness others can come to know Him as Lord and Savior. You can be ignorant regarding who Charles Darwin is and still go to heaven, but if you don’t know Jesus you don’t have a chance.

Today is my wife’s birthday. I’ve finished writing a “mushy” note, which was placed inside her card, and I plan to spend the day with her, celebrating this special day. Birthdays ought to be celebrated.

Life is a precious gift from God. We each owe our very existence to Him. Every breath we breathe is because of His grace. Without Him we could do nothing—we wouldn’t even be here were it not for Him.

Life is precious because it is filled with opportunities. At the very top of the list is the opportunity to know and commune with God. Were there nothing else, that is enough to make life worth living. It is a shame that so many people do not avail themselves of this wonderful opportunity. They miss the best thing in life!

But, there are other things that make life worth living. In addition to the gift of life there are the gifts of life for which we should be thankful. The best of these gifts are people, not things; relationships, not riches. Thank God for those people who are a part of our life. There is no way to measure the worth of our family and friends.

But there is something else about living that should give us cause for rejoicing. Not only should we be thankful for the blessings of life we should be thrilled because of the opportunity to be a blessing. Like Abraham of old, we have been blessed to bless. Regardless of who you are, you can find purpose and satisfaction in life by being a blessing to others. That alone makes life worth living. The most important thing is not that you are loved, but that you love. Don’t spend your life bemoaning the fact that others don’t love you as they should. The greater blessing comes from you loving them as you should. Life gives you that opportunity. That is cause for celebration. Think about it!

Heard any good news lately? Well, it happened to me last night. When I arrived at church I received the news that a boy had received Christ as his Savior in Children’s church. That’s great news, but it won’t make the headlines of any newspaper. Sadly, it doesn’t even get as much attention as it deserves from us Christians. O sure, we say “Amen” and maybe even clap our hands, but you know that we don’t get as excited as we should.

What if someone just inherited a million dollars? That would sure get our attention! What if the Astros won the World Series? Well, thats a miracle we Houstonians would never stop talking about. But a child gets saved and we take a “That’s nice” approach, as though it is no big deal. You know that’s true.

Please don’t misunderstand me—I’m not placing all the blame on you. I have been just as guilty as anyone . For some reason I can’t stop thinking about this. It just goes to show how distorted our perception of what’s important can be. The greatest thing that could happen to a person is to be born again—we all agree on that, but why aren’t we more excited about it?

We could spend a lot of time talking about the reason for this problem, but for now I simply want you to think about the reality of it. If we could only see things from heaven’s point of view we would see how we fail. The truth is we can, in a small measure, see heavens view on this matter—“there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”( Luke 15:10). Why then are we not more excited? Why should we not rejoice?

Think about this—maybe our lack of excitement over a person being saved is tied together with our failure to witness to others as we should. We simply lose sight of what is most important. It happens to all of us at times. That’s why we need to be reminded over and over again. Hopefully the next time we hear about a soul being saved we will think about this and be motivated to win others to Christ. If we’re not doing that why are we here on earth? Think about it!