People sometimes forget the darkness of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States. Several groups worked toward a violent overthrow of the US government. Terror bombings became all too common. Much of this sprang from the deeply unpopular Viet Nam war.
Youthful baby boomers often saw their parents as putting up a façade of hypocrisy around their lives. They wanted something more than that for themselves. They wanted authenticity and meaning. Some put flowers in their hair and turned to drugs. In their search for meaning, many of them threw out the old moral and sexual standards of earlier generations.
Many chose to search in futile, immoral, and highly destructive ways. But when people sincerely seek God, good things happen. Jesus explained this in Matthew 7:7-8. He said, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”
Asking, seeking, and knocking work because we are not alone. God sees the sincere search for things like meaning, truth, and beauty, things only found in Him. And He responds lovingly. Jesus went on to say in verses 9-11, “Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Those of us working on college campuses in the late 60s and early 70s witnessed something amazing. Massive numbers of young people began to search for Jesus. They didn’t know at first that they were searching for Him, but He is the truth, beauty, and meaning they sought. Something called the Jesus Movement soon swept the land. It changed the course of history. I think our nation would be a hundred times worse today if not for the spiritual awakening of the young during those years.
Today, once youthful baby boomers are collecting Social Security. America needs to hear from heaven afresh. We again need healing in the land.
On Saturday, August 24th of this year, something happened at Ohio State University. Former and present members of the Buckeye football team held a rally. Player after player testified, telling how Jesus had transformed their lives. About a thousand people showed up, mostly students. At the end of the meeting, a little over 60 of them asked to be baptized right then and there.
After the event, former Ohio State running back, Master Teague III, said on Fox News, “Sin brings about death. And there is but one cure, and that cure is Jesus Christ…. Everybody’s looking for peace. Everybody’s looking for joy. Everybody’s looking for meaning and purpose… but they’re looking in the wrong places. Jesus is the answer, and we desire to share that.”
This is one of several reports we’re now hearing of campus revival in the United States. In the early 1970s, what began on college campuses quickly spread to high schools. It went on to impact the whole nation — from homeless encampments to business communities. It can happen again.
In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” The workers are few, so work. A job needs doing — a job with your name on it. But don’t just work — pray! Pray now and expect God to move. Millions are seeking. The rapture can happen at any time, but in the meantime, let us work and let us pray.
