Am I Wrong to Fear for Our Children’s Future?

Q: Society puts a great deal of pressure on young people to be successful — to make something of themselves; yet I find that even my own children, now young adults and successful, have a deep sense of emptiness . Am I wrong to fear for their future? — U.M.

A: We are taught to be independent, to make it on our own. We admire those who appear to be successful. Yet within each of us is a deep-seated frustration: “I ought to be better. I believe I was made for something more; there must be more to life than this. Why am I so empty?”

Such feelings can cause us to struggle toward some unknown, unnamed goal. While we are told to “plan ahead,” few really think about the future. A good many people make spontaneous decisions never considering the consequences. When their world begins to crumble, they look back and wonder how they got where they are. They begin to feel empty inside. Their emptiness is the absence of God in their lives.

There was once a brilliant young lawyer who did not seem to find a need for God. He began to write about a famous person, hoping to find a surprising secret to his life. In the process of his research, he discovered that the man had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ which led the young attorney on his own spiritual quest.

The only answer to filling the empty place in the heart is found in God. In this Age of Quest the most important is our personal search for answers concerning life that will lead us to the One who created life in the first place. His name is Almighty God and He cares deeply for mankind and proved it by making a way for us to have eternal life and joy unspeakable. “You will show me the path of life, in Your presence (Lord) is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2019 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.