Go Get A Copy of "Time"

I try and keep up with what is going on in our world. I don't do a real good job of it sometimes. I have a hard enough time keeping up with myself! If you get the chance, go by and pick up a copy of the latest issue of Time magazine. The feature article is a special report about "Being 13". I haven't read all the special report yet, but I did read the section about the Spiritual lives of 13 year olds. It's written by a guy named Nathan Thornburgh, and I think he did a good job describing what is going on spiritually with most kids that age. In the article he quotes a priest, who also is an adolescent psychiatrist at Emory University with a PHD, who makes the following observation regarding a 13 year old developing the ability to understand abstract concepts while at the same time expanding their sense of empathy:
"In religious terms, this gives them the ability to discern between institutional religion and an internal relationship with God". Hmmm.........you thinking what I'm thinking? Hope not, because thinking like me means you probably need to go visit a shrink. But here is what I am thinking...........how did so many amongst "us" skip being 13? :) "Us" being, you know, THE church. So many give the impression they never went thru that stage, and went straight to 14 from 12. Anyway, read the article and tell me what you think about it. The back cover of the magazine is an advertisement for an upcoming feature on "the History Channel". On August 7th, they are going to air a program called "Ape to Man" and the catch phrase is "Has Evolution Made a Monkey Out Of You?" That should grab our attention, huh? I plan on watching it. Lastly, the inside back cover article by Charles Krauthammer is an editorial about the recent discussions going on about including "intelligent design" in the teaching of creation in our public schools. His take is that it has no place in science class, and evolution should be the only option taught. Are we going to end up having another Scopes trial? My guess is that it is going to get uglier before it gets prettier. In these discussions, I hope we can speak the truth in love, and truly be light and salt to a world that is hungry to find answers.
Wouldn't it be a shame if we convinced them we were right about creation, but we did it in such an ugly way that they NEVER wanted to be associated with a group of people who are that mean spirited? We would have won the battle, but lost the war. What if we didn't convince them to believe in the Biblical version of the creation, but because we were so kind, loving and caring unlike any people they had EVER been around, they wanted to know more of who this "Lord" is, and this man named Jesus. AHH.....I would choose that outcome over the first one ANY day! Let's be about bringing glory to Him in all we do.

And let's get some folks to go back and be 13 again! :)