Have you ever thought about the implications of the first phrase in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world”? It is difficult for us to fully grasp the significance of this until we realize how many people presently live on our planet. On March 29, 1976, the world population clock counted four billion people, with an increase at the rate of 2.2 births/second. Today, the total population is past seven billion, and it is growing at the rate of 4.5 births/second. This is equivalent to 388,800 births/day.

Of the seven billion people who call our planet “home,” only a small percentage of them – to say one billion would be very generous – know Christ as Savior. That means at least six billion people whom God loves and for whom Jesus died may face an eternity forever separated from God in Hell. That breaks my heart.

Christian, if we don’t do our part to reach the lost for Christ, then shame on us. We will have to answer to Almighty God for our indifference. If we want to avoid such a confrontation, then we’d better get busy.

Each of us has people in our sphere of influence: neighbors, co-workers, business contacts, and people we sit with on train or plane trips. God has put these people in our paths for a reason. He wants us to tell them how His love caused Him to send His only Son to die and pay for all of their sins. He wants us to tell them that eternal life is theirs if they will accept it by faith in Jesus Christ. He wants to populate Heaven, and we are the instruments He has chosen for the task.

God really cares about the world. Do your part to tell others about His love today.