Guest Post: An Exciting Time to be Alive

By: Melanie Morgan

“This world’s going to hell in a handbasket,” seems to be the mantra of society today. But I beg to differ. My name is Melanie, and I’m a millennial. I’ve grown up in the age of the Internet, though you may be surprised to hear that I do remember the days of dial up and atlas maps for road trips.

I don’t remember Y2K, and I don’t remember much of life prior to 9/11. As I’ve grown up, I’ve had countless older people in my life apologize to me for growing up in this time period. “Life won’t be easy for you,” they say — and, “You won’t get any social security.” As if I had any control on the time period I was born into. But that’s just it — God did not make a mistake on the timing of my birth. I believe God intentionally placed me here, on this earth, for such a time as this. 

The cultural tides are shifting, and it’s easy to become pessimistic when you hear news about the latest shootings, terrorist attacks, or political events. Our media thrives on pessimism. But as believers, we are not called to live as negative doomsayers. We are called to be the light of Jesus in a hurting and broken world.

I’m not turning a blind eye to the world — trust me. I work at a secular university, so I see all kinds of things. But I’m not going to let the degrading culture lead to me to a place of resignation from the world. 

Two years ago, I traveled the world, and what I saw and experienced completely changed my perspective on life. I saw the Holy Spirit come alive in a way that I had only read about in books. I met people who had dreams about Jesus. I met people who had experienced miraculous healings. And I met ordinary people who came to know the love of Jesus in a supernatural way that transformed their lives forever. I realized that God is powerfully working all around the world. 

Did you know that in the past 100 years, Christianity has increased by 227%? In 1910 there were 612 million Christians around the world. Today, there are over 2 billion Christ-followers. What an amazing increase! Additionally, in 1910, there were 9 million Christians on the continent of Africa. Today, that number is over 600 million! And over 3,300 languages now have access to at least one portion of Scripture. God is on the move, and much of the movement has been within the last century. We have much to celebrate, friend.

However, there is still work to be done since 41% of the world has yet to hear the gospel. From our perspective, it may look like Satan is winning, but our God is stronger. And we already know the end of the story! We know that Jesus will return, and we will be resurrected with Him.

So rather than moaning and groaning in our degrading culture and holding out for Jesus to return, let’s get busy! There are still sheep out there that need to come into the fold.

Let’s be part of the final movement — the final act — where we play an active role in ushering in God’s kingdom. I believe this is one of the most exciting times to be alive.

Will you be part of it? 

Melanie Morgan is a summer intern with the Master Writer department at Focus on the Family. She’s currently pursuing her master’s degree in Technical and Professional Writing at Missouri State University. Melanie has a heart for international missions, and she has been to 25 countries. In her free time, she enjoys running and hosting people in her home. Melanie currently lives in Springfield, Missouri

Topics: Current Events July 25, 2019 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura