Where is the solution to the global problems?
According to scientists, the biggest problem facing civilization right now is not terrorism or AIDS. It might surprise you that it is over-population, survival in the face of dwindling resources.
Respected French scientist and oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997), who was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan in 1985, said
"Our survival is no more than a question of 25, 50 or perhaps 100 years."
As far back as 1789, Thomas Malthus studied population growth in Europe and stated that "population was increasing faster than food production, and he feared eventual global starvation." - www.prb.org
"World population grew at an unprecedented rate after 1945... Massive population growth resulted from improved public health measures and successful attacks on many traditional diseases." - The encyclopedia of World History, 2001.
It is obvious that technology-driven advances have created increased mortality - people live longer. But that's not the only factor influencing the normal rate of population growth. Whatever the factors are, the world is concerned right now about overpopulation.
We are running out of space to hold people on this earth. The resources - food, shelter, medicine, energy, etc - are just not enough. Where are these global problems leading? Where is the solution to earth's problems? Is God listening to us?
Are there any solutions we can count on?
Although science and technology have brought us solutions or fixes for many of humanity's problems, there are more and more new problems to contend with each day.
Medicine still chases the panacea for cancer, AIDS, SARS, and other illnesses.
Governments and politics still search for the right material to fabricate a lasting peace, locally and internationally.
The environment and its inhabitants are endangered. The only things not on the endangered list are the problems themselves; which seem to find new form and scope everyday.
Does it sound pessimistic? Maybe it does, but the news reports from the battlefields, and the economic landscape are not very encouraging.
Could the solution to this world's problems be actually out of this world? Maybe that's why there are so many confusing ideas about the Second Coming of Christ and other religious beliefs.
True Peace
The Chi Lites, a soul music group, had a popular song with the famous line, "There will never be any peace, until God is seated at the conference table." A bit ironic that such a profound message has often be taken as just entertainment.
How often have politicians fabricated cease fires, peace agreements, and the like... only to find the conflagration raging again before news can even get around. How many peace deals have there been in the Palestinian conflict?
The root cause of war and strife is the selfishness innate in every human being. Until our minds are miraculously transformed to the likeness of that of Christ (Philippians 2:5), or until God becomes the true ruler of every soul, peace will continue to be a distant aspiration.
Inner Peace
Death, and the trauma associated with it, have no known earthly cure. The inevitability of death forces us to take it as the ultimate and sure end of life. But, is it?
It leaves a feeling of hopeless acceptance that makes ageing even painful, and few people find that inner peace in facing the enemy - death.
It's 'Out of This World'
It's obvious that the solution to earth's problems are actually beyond us; in the sense that our best efforts are puny compared to the effects from the big battle between good and evil - the Great Controversy.
The lasting solution to earth's problems is actually out of this world. Come on, we've been practicing for all time - science has given temporary solutions to some problems and has created others as well. Politics (the way it is played today - for it seems like a game) is a "necessary evil". The problems facing the world are not new, and they have one main root cause - sin.
The solution to the sin problem is actually out of this world. Heaven holds the only sure hope for mankind's ultimate survival, and the plan to effect this lasting solution has been clearly outlined.
Just take a look at this vision of the dawn of a new united kingdom of the world.