How Can I Know?

When I was in graduate school one of the required books was, “How to Lie with Statistics.” I didn’t read the book. I got everything I needed to know from the title.

A recent poll conducted by “Diplomacy Today” indicates that 62% of voters approve of the President’s performance while 59% indicate they would not vote for him if the election was held today.

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Regardless of your political leanings, your soul surged just a touch with this statistical analysis—3% is within the margin of error. Except that 62% and 59% equals 122%. No, it actually equals 121%, and with either sum, that’s not possible—and there is no “Diplomacy Today” (no pun intended).  

Back in the day, when I was young and Grover Cleveland was President, the CBS evening news with Walter Cronkite concluded with the venerable anchorman looking into the camera and saying, “And that’s the way it is.” And he was telling us the truth. Apart from a few friends who persist in believing the “New York Times” is an honest broker, most people realize the “news” is fractured, partisan, and self-serving. In fact, a young media exec told me the other day over cocktails, “We run whatever story drives our numbers up.” At least he was honest.

It’s too harsh to say we are being lied to by our media, but in order to have a story worth telling, one variable must be present: conflict. No conflict, no story. No story? Invent one with conflict.

Do you feel it? There is no peace, no resolution, no consensus. Even our educational and religious hallmarks appear duplicitous.

For a moment there is a reprieve—it’s the holidays and Congress is not in session—but not for long. A new decade dawns and before we know it, we will date our documents, 2020, and business will return to usual.

What now?

As 2020 waits in the wings, are you planning to approach it using the same sources you used to enlighten 2019? Can you know anything that matters? Can you know anything that is true? Can 2020 be different than 2019?

Here’s a statistic for you—a true one: 100% of people die. Sobering, huh? Contemplating this has a way of dampening the noise of life as usual.

I don’t know when death will transpire for either you or me, but we will not escape. So, as Steven Covey has counseled, why not begin 2020 with the end in mind and think/work backward?

Why not live in light of your death?

If you are confident in the fact of your death, and know heaven awaits you as a follower of Jesus Christ upon your passing, why not exert this confidence on your life as 2020 dawns?

God never promised heaven on earth, but He promises heaven to those who walk with Jesus Christ. No matter what silver lining Steven Pinker may or may not see, statistically speaking, war is with us—and it always has been—but God promises peace to those who are His. Kingdoms come and go, but the promises of God are true and His Kingdom is eternal.

We in the West live in relative affluence. Most of the world, by comparison, lives in poverty, many in utter demise. But those who walk with Christ, regardless of circumstances, have confidence if they will seize it. In fact, as Tim Keller writes, the spiritual confidence of Christians who suffer, confident in their faith, has spoken more loudly of Christ’s victory, and brought more lasting social change, than any other social incentive or historical factor. (You might ponder this fact a moment. The great Roman Empire was irrevocably changed by the way its Christian citizens and prisoners conducted themselves in society and suffering. It makes you wonder how we, residents of the greatest empire of the modern era, should conduct ourselves in society and challenge and how we should prepare to live today and tomorrow.)

How do you know anything, religious or not? There are many things you can’t know, but whatever those variables might be, they are extraneous to what you do know—what you can and must know—with certainty: Heaven will never come to Earth—not even if your candidate wins in November. But the heaven that is the peace that passes understanding can dwell inside you if you walk with Jesus Christ. What an adventure!

No epic journey begins without a responsible guide letting you know what he knows so you are prepared. Your heavenly Father says, “In me you live, and move, and exist. I will take care of your needs. You have your being in me—your every breath. And, I have given you everything necessary for life and godliness. Nothing known or unknown can separate us, and no matter how wild things might get, I’ve got you” (paraphrase of: Acts 17:28; Phil. 4:19; 2 Pt. 1:3; Rm. 8:31-39).

There you have it. And, that’s the way it is. It only makes sense to begin with what we know—to begin with the end in mind.

As I retake the helm of Lifetime Ministries, I will write to you occasionally in this venue as well as regularly at lifetime.org. When I write here, under the PHG logo, I will write with more depth—thoughts that are more developed—than the regular blog articles at lifetime.org afford me.

The best I have to give you is what I know of Father from Scripture and life. I promise to deliver this to you to the best of my ability.

If this sounds like a good plan, an adventure worth taking, it would help all concerned if you would invest—invest in your own future actually—and then share with others. Engage. It’s what Father does and it’s what we must be about as well. Together, we are victorious!

Year’s end is a great time to begin with the end in mind.