Flashing Lights

There is a hunger in human hearts for an experience of God that transforms human life. Years ago, the shrill ring of the telephone awoke me in the night. It was a local doctor asking me to join him in the emergency room where a boy had been taken after a bad drug trip on LSD. The parents were frantic as the boy mumbled incoherently, describing bright flashing lights, beautiful colors, and a "presence" he felt must be God. As I stood there that night, I knew everyone in that room could feel the longing in that young man's empty life. That yearning for a deeper experience of God's presence is something the old and the young in America are seeking. Despite the abundance of "things" in our lives, there is a realization that life has to consist of more than hamburgers and frenc…