Skip to main content

What happens when people Google “Jesus”?

The following blog was taken from Cru’s blog. It was published on September 25, 2015 by Lillian Cain.

Moment of vulnerability here: I have looked up some embarrassing questions on Google. What does “YOLO” mean? Is butter a carb? Which ocean is the Pacific? Is it bad if your engine smokes? What is a Bronie? Who is Justice Beaver?

I mean come on, be honest, haven't you? (P.S. Most of the above examples are only for dramatic effect, please don't judge me.) I remember in the 90s and early 2000s when people said the Internet was just a fad. Well, I sort of remember...I was in my elementary and middle school years so my cultural awareness wasn't the sharpest. But man, were those people wrong.

The rapid advancement of the internet has created a fascinating cultural climate. I know it's cliché, but we really do have a world of information at our fingertips – more information than we even have the capacity to comprehend.

And so when we have a question, what is the first thing most of us do? “Google it.” We turn to the internet for our ordinary, mundane, and sometimes embarrassing questions. But we also look to this infinite store of knowledge for answers to life's most complex moral, intellectual, and spiritual quandaries.

I read an article from Relevant magazine that ignited this train of thought for me. Using Google's autocomplete feature, the people at Relevant Magazine looked up what questions people are most frequently asking about God, Jesus, Christians, sin, and salvation. I scrolled down the page absorbing this information with curiosity. It truly is amazing to have such a peek into the collective mind of our culture.

But there was one question that stopped me in my tracks...it read, "Does Jesus know me?”

Tears began to well in my eyes. Curiosity changed to heartache. My heart sank as I thought about how many people out there asked this question. Does Jesus know you?

Oh yes, He knows you. He made you – your flaws, your strengths, your quirks – and He loves you. Oh how He loves you. He knows everything about you, every heart ache you've felt, every tear you've shed, every joy you've celebrated, down to the number of hairs on your head. He knows you better and loves you more than anyone; you cannot possibly fathom how well He knows you.

And oh, if you only knew how much He longs for you to know Him.

This sat heavy on my heart. I felt a sobering clarity about the mission to which God has called me, to reach people for Christ in the digital realm. Because people are looking. They're looking for answers about who God is, and what He thinks of them, about whether or not there's a purpose to life and if they matter in it. And they're looking on the internet.

If people are on the internet looking for answers, then we need to meet them there with the Solution. And we would be foolish not to utilize such a significant, enormous opportunity to tell people about the Savior who is looking for them, too. Though He is never really far from anyone.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...

Update on Sarah Fergus

Here is an update that we just sent to our church regarding Sarah Fergus who is heading off soon to serve the Lord in Madagascar. If you're interested in helping Sarah, please write me a note and I'll be glad to pass it on to her. One way or the other, please join us in prayer! Dear Glory of Christ Fellowship, Thank you for all your prayers in the last few weeks. I have been very encouraged by many of you on Sunday mornings and after visiting several community groups. This church really is a blessing to me as I am being constantly reminded that I am not alone in this. One huge praise is that in the last week I was pledged about half of what I still needed for monthly support! Reminder of dates: Dec 13th is when I need financial clearance. Jan 8th is my planned departure date. Finance Update: Total amount still needed per month: $279 Breakdown: 6 people at $50 a month 12 people at $25 a month Please continue to keep this in prayer for the next few weeks. I also have a lot to...

When Children Say "I'm Bored" By Julie Lowe

This Article is written by Julie Lowe and was originally posted on the CCEF blog.  I highlighted the areas of particular interest. I had already prepared a blogpost on dealing with boredom from a Christian worldview and then came across this. There is much overlap between the two, perhaps this one is more concise while my work attempts to explain the connection between the ability to think and the ability to be happy. You can visit the original blogpost in the link provided below.  https://www.ccef.org/resources/blog/children-say-im-bored   We have a common crisis in our home; it is the calamity of boredom. Our children might even consider it a catastrophe. “I’m bored” is repeated so often it would not be an overstatement to say that these words echo continuously throughout our home especially during any break from school. These are children with limited media time but still children with a Wii and Xbox system, a pool outside our door, multiple games, toy...