youth, teenagers, courage, life

We just met your teenagers returning from a mission trip in South Texas. After ten hours in vans, they (and especially the adult leaders) looked a little tired to say the least.

Although I don't know all of these young men and women as well as I did when my girls were teenagers, I do know enough to be very grateful for what I see. While they certainly aren't perfect, they certainly have great promise.

Teens can be mercurial and frustrating, but I love their thirst for life. And that thirst gives them a courage that is often missing in their parents. All too often, we adults allow life's disappointments steal our willingness to step out and live the life that God gives us. Sometimes teens step out in bad directions, but I still respect that they are hungry for what life has to offer.

Have you lost your hunger for life? Maybe we can learn something from our kids.

Finding rest

Julie and I are enjoying a two week break in the Rockies. We were both tired, and the opportunity to get away together has been a real blessing. We've enjoyed the beauty of creation, as well as the slower pace of vacation. We needed the rest.

But modern communication keeps us grounded in reality. Through cell phones and e-mails we learned that an old friend our age died of cancer. We felt sadness for those left behind.

And then we discover that our dog became quite ill while we were gone. We had suspected something for awhile, and is is confirmed that cancer has advanced and he is very, very sick. When we return, our four-legged friend won't be there to greet us. I'll really miss the only other male in our house.

As much as we try to avoid the realities of pain in the world, we can't. Since Adam's fall in Genesis, death and hurt are our constant companions--we simply can't escape those realities. But we can find rest in the person of Jesus Christ. I simply cannot imagine trying to deal with all the hurt with out the perspective of Jesus' rest.

Can I make a difference?

I'm sitting in an airport watching the democratic predidential debate. As is often the case, you could get the impression that the world's problems are overwhelming and that, utlimately, we have many more questions than answers to the world's problems. I don't mean it's hopeless, only that we face issues that are so great, and so complicated, that it does make you wonder what we as individuals can do to make our world better.

Obviously, as citizens we should vote and be involved in the political process. But I don't believe that is all we can do. Especially as a follower of Christ, I also have the responsibility to live in the world as salt and light, which includes living out the love of Christ in my own community. It may be only a small drop in the ocean of need around us, but it is my calling.

The Old Testament book of Ruth demonstrates that God often uses seemingly insignificant people doing insignificant good works, to accomplish remarkable changes in the world. It is our calling to care and to do what we can.