I had an unusual dream on December 5, 2024.

I was far away in a remote village. The head person, a woman, was judging several young men, about fifteen of them. We were passing by. The young men were all executed and thrown into the river. We had to canoe through the floating bodies because the river through the dense jungle was only about 20 feet wide. Then, in another scene, some men were questioning a teenager in a room with a gun to his head. After we passed, we heard a shot in the room. When I raised my eyebrows in question to the village men around me, they put a gun to my head threateningly. Then they let me pass.

This reminded me that many people are dying without the knowledge of a better way to live. The gospel is a far superior way to live on this side, and then we get eternal life. It is easy to forget the lost as we get overwhelmed by how someone looked at us in church or how a family member treated us at a Christmas gathering. Those things are important, too, but in the abundant capacity of God, let’s remember the lost-lost, too.