The recent G8 Conference in Evian, France, reminded us of the shocking disparity extant in our world, particularly when comparing most Western countries with the continent of Africa.
For example, life expectancy in the G8 (mainly Western countries) is 77 while the average in Africa is 48. There is almost 100 percent access to clean water in, for instance, the United Kingdom, but the figure is only 45 percent for the troubled Congo.
Canada's average citizen spends about $2,500 in Canadian dollars annually on health care, but Mali only one paltry dollar. In the developed world about 1.5 million people have the HIV virus, while in Africa 28 million are plagued by this disease. Consider also the number of people who live on less than a dollar a day. There are none among the G8 nations, but 291 million people eke out such an existence in Africa.
These comparisons were chosen at random and many similar ones could be made. This is one good reason that true Christians should always pray, "Your kingdom come."
If you want to know what God plans to do about the afflictions of our age and to learn of the much different conditions our Creator promises for the world of tomorrow, request or download our free booklet The Gospel of the Kingdom. Also see the article about our fragmented world on page 21 of this issue. (Sources: The Independent [London], the World Bank, UNICEF, World Resources Institute, University of North Carolina Worldview Program.)
