One of the sure-fire ways to see differences between generations is to find out how people remember getting news when they were kids. We used to get news over the radio. We had to tune in at a certain time each day – otherwise, we missed it. Then we started getting nightly news from television. Now the news cycle is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Through smart phones and Twitter, we can be closely connected to people all over the world. The younger generation doesn’t know anything different; they’re used to knowing what is happening in Syria, in China, and in Australia, all with the click of a button. 

Honestly, with all of this news available, sometimes it can be hard to know how to care about it all. Civil wars, refugee crises, natural disasters – the world is a broken and hurting place. My heart breaks with the news from my own country, much less countries thousands of miles away. Sometimes we need to step back and take a break, but we cannot stop caring about our global neighbors. Reaching our world for Christ is only possible if we care about ALL people. Jesus said to go make disciples of ALL nations, and we can’t do that unless we open our hearts to the pain of the world. It won’t be easy, but Jesus cares about the world, and we should too. When we decide to open our eyes and hearts, we can make a difference in the world for Christ.

This is Luis Palau.