RUNNING IN CIRCLES

You know, when I was younger, especially when I served in the Army, I used to run quite a bit.  The thing about me though is this – I never really enjoyed running on a track.  I couldn’t stand the thought of running around and around, going nowhere, counting the endless numbers of laps.  I much preferred to run cross-country, along some back road or a wooded path, or along the beach.  I didn’t always know what was going to be around the corner, the sidewalk might disappear, and the road might be full of potholes, but I felt like I was getting somewhere.

Running around in circles – that’s sort of what modern society offers us in life.  This “material world” of ours is telling us to buy this, spend money on that, own this new electronic gadget, that pimped out car, those cool shoes.  Make money, become powerful, be famous – become one of the “beautiful” people.  That’s the finish line society sets for us.  The problem is that, just like running on a track, running that kind of race, the race society wants us to run, just leads us in circles, running around and around, going nowhere fast, and in the end, winding up right back where we started – empty, alone, with nothing to show for all our efforts to acquire, possess, own.

But Christ offers us an alternative:  don’t own . . . give up.  Don’t take . . . but give away.  Don’t seek power . . . but surrender yourself to Jesus Christ, instead.  The race he offers us is not an easy race, not by any stretch of the imagination.  Just like running cross country, living as a Christian means we will face many hardships -- potholes in the road -- and we won’t always know what awaits us around the corner . . . but the finish line, we know where the finish line is and what awaits us there is not emptiness, but salvation.  Not death, but life.

For those of you who joined us for our first Life Night, I guess I don’t know exactly why you joined us in all the races and games.  Hopefully, because they were fun.  Maybe simply because we told you to.  But in life you are going to need to decide what race to run and why you are running it.  Here at LIFE TEEN, we offer you one race to choose from, one journey to take.  A journey of faith, a walk to Christ.  And we’re not asking you to take that walk by yourself.  First and foremost, you will have the Holy Spirit with you.  But you will also have us, the Core members and myself and Fr. T with you.  See, the motto of LIFE TEEN is “Leading teens closer to Christ.”  I prefer to think of it as, “Accompanying teens on a journey to Christ.”  Not quite as catchy, I know, but closer to the truth.  We are on a journey to the Cross, and I hope you will join us. 

St. Paul, not always known for being an athlete, spoke about his personal race as he sat in a Roman prison, awaiting his judgment, when he said in 2 Timothy:  “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”  Christ is calling on you to fight the good fight and keep the faith.  And when you have finished the race, he will personally meet you, and take you in his arms and say, “Well done, my son.  Good job my daughter.  Now come, and rest with me under the shady tree for a while, and welcome home.  Welcome to Life.” 

And so I say to you, welcome to LIFE TEEN.  We hope you’ll join us on the journey. 

Tim