The theme at Challenge Youth Conference (CYC) this year was “Look Up”! The world around us can be difficult. It always has been, at least since the fall of mankind in the garden. Since that time God has been trying to get man to look up to Him for the answers. He wanted them to before the fall, but in a moment of weakness, they looked elsewhere, and every one of us has made that same mistake since that time. But God still calls us to something higher. He knows we will sin but seems to have faith that we can find a way to look beyond it and see His Son. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up that whoever believes in Him should not perish” (John 3:14). This passage is referring of course to the bronze serpent built to be raised in the camp when the Israelites were punished for their sins and God provided relief through their faith to look up (Numbers 21:4-9). Jesus knew that when He would be raised up on the cross He would “draw all men” to Himself (John 12:32). I want to encourage you as you go through your week and really through your entire life, choose to look up. Make your decisions, not based on the situations around you or the people in your life but on your relationship with Jesus and what He did at Golgotha for you. He intended through his sacrifice to draw us to Him for faith and salvation, but also to draw us near to Him for a changed life. To live for Him here, and to live with Him in eternity. He has been pursuing us since the garden. Everything He has done has been to get us to simply look up to Him.