Crossing the Divide

The name Helen Keller is well known to most people. She was born to a wealthy family in Alabama in 1870 and at nineteen months of age became afflicted with an ailment that left her blind and deaf.

Fewer people have heard of Annie Sullivan who became the teacher for Helen Keller. Imagine communicating with a person who not only has a near complete lack of language but can neither see nor hear you. Where do you start to teach them to read, write or speak? Annie Sullivan had herself been blind for a period of time so she identified with part of the problem and had some of the tools for teaching the blind. She began by making impressions in the palm of the hand of her student. But how does a person translate a hand impression into a cognitive thought? The breakthrough came when Annie Sullivan took Helen to a water pump, made the sign for water and then pumped water into her hand. It was as if a light went on in the girl’s mind and her appetite for learning became insatiable. Helen Keller went on to graduate from Radcliffe College becoming the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

The challenge for any teacher is to close the gap between knowledge and ignorance. It is crossing the divide of separation. The divide that separated Helen Keller from other humans was sight and sound and Annie Sullivan found the bridge. There’s a similar gap that separates man from God. How does a spirit being that understands how to hang the earth in space communicate with humans who can’t figure out how to live at peace with each other?

A recent study in England carried out by Penguin books said that nearly two-thirds of teenagers do not believe in God. According to the June 22 report in the Telegraph newspaper the study of 1,000 teens showed that 59% thought religion has a negative influence on the world. The survey also revealed that half of those questioned have never prayed and 16% have never been to church.

So how does the Creator of the Universe cross the gap of a deaf blind world to teach human beings?

Last week a story came out of Camp Outreach in Indianapolis that illustrates the point. Camp Outreach is a week-long camp where young people gather to repair homes in impacted neighborhoods. Part of the program includes bible studies with children. As the teacher was introducing the lesson she asked, “How many of you have heard of Moses?” Out of the 28 children in the session only two raised their hands. And those two were the teacher’s children. Not one child out of the 26 that lived in the community had heard of Moses.

Most of those kids could probably tell you the names of entertainers and some sports figures. But knowledge of what God has done to save man is seriously lacking. How can people be expected to worship God if they don’t know what he has done for man?

In England according to preliminary results of the National Biblical Literacy Survey, carried out by St. John's College Durham, as few as 10% of people understood the main characters in the Bible and their relevance. About 60% were unaware of the story of the Good Samaritan and figures such as Abraham and Joseph were also foreign to many.

The simple question is, “How can people believe in God if they haven’t heard of him?” The ancient Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” (Hosea 4:6 NIV) How ironic that in the middle of the Information Age, when transfer of information is more easily achieved than any time in history, people are dying for lack of knowledge. But it isn’t knowledge of science. It is knowledge of God.

As the Apostle Paul wrote, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15 NLT)

So, polish your shoes. There is still a race to run.

Until next time,