Could you scoot over a bit?

It's partially my fault, I guess. I had been praying that I would find the time to read more, so waking 30 minutes earlier and not turning on Fox News gave me a half hour to attempt to broaden my knowledge and do more thinking.  I do most of my reading online, so I have amassed numerous blogs which are normally about Biblical topics or devotional messages.  I can't get around to all of them every day so when I stumble on one I haven't read in a while, I follow the blog posts back a few days to see if I missed anything important.  One such search led me to a blog that had a link to the "2011 World Population Data Sheet."  I started to skip the simple click that would unfold the figures, but I couldn't resist.......so I clicked it. 

Did you know that every day in our world there are an average of 382,000 babies born?    Me either.  Further looking at the figures informed me the world population at this point is just over 7 billion.  In looking back to 1960 there were only 3 billion humans on the planet.  Current statistics now suggest we increase a billion people every 12 years.  Mind boggling, huh?

What does all this mean to you?  Well, other than the obvious that we are eventually going to have to make room somewhere for all those people.  Some  think their weird neighbors are too close already.  If our business is baby formula, it may mean we need to add additional workers, or maybe even open another factory.  Should we get ready by starting today to build more schools and train more teachers?  How soon will increased food production be needed?  Will we need to add another worship service to our church schedule or even worse, start another building program?  Is there an landfill somewhere that can handle all those disposable diapers?  Stay with me here, because today's 382,000 are already here and tomorrow there will be another 382,000 to consider. 

Perhaps the most important question is how we as Christians are to view this data.  Do statistics like these cause us to fear or become less interested in our task of reaching the lost? Maybe even more important is how God feels about these statistics and our response to them. 

One thing should be crystal clear to anyone who faces what might seem insurmountable odds at keeping up with the population.  God is still in control. Tomorrow when you wake up to 382,000 new occupants of the earth, God still loves you, and tomorrow brings him another 382,000 to love.  In addition, the saving blood of Jesus still covers your sins, and the sins of all who reside on the earth. His great commission is still a commandment to reach everyone with the gospel. His grace still saves. 

I don't know how many of his children God takes home on any given day, but I know it's less than 382,000. So the task before us is to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ." The people are hungry, and because we are recipients of God's mercy and grace,  our task is to utilize the talents and the power he puts in us to share the gospel with them all.  It starts with the next one you tell.

<ronbwriting@yahoo.com>