Friday Night Lights

Psalm 119:19 - "I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. "

This is the weekend that I take our volunteer staff and student leaders on their annual planning/vision/bonding retreat. This year's retreat is in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. For those of you who don't know, Eden Prairie is the same city that our church is in. We are staying in a hotel where you can literally see our church steeple.

Last night I took our staff and students to a high school football game. We saw Eden Prairie High School take on Chaska High School at Chaska. When we arrived at the game the atmosphere was electric. The Chaska side of the field was packed. It was standing room only. The Eden Prairie side of the field? Packed; standing room only. And in the time that we were at the game, I watched our adult staff morph into high schoolers. Okay, they still acted like adults, but they remembered their high school years. After the game I asked the adults to tell me what they experienced and how they felt as they watched the game. Many of them recounted their own high school experiences. They talked about what groups they were in while they attended high school. They talked about how strange it felt to be at a high school campus, not as a student, but to remember how awkward it felt to be in high school. And, they talked about how they felt like strangers walking into a stadium full of people that they didn't know.

In Psalm 119:19, David says that he is a stranger on earth. Some translations choose to translate the word stranger as sojourner. David knew that his time on earth was temporary. He was passing through this life. It's easy to forget that. In the long days of life it is so easy to get sidetracked and chase after all that the world has to offer. And in the end, we end up feeling dissatisfied with life's bitter offerings. In the midst of life's busyness, it's easy to forget God.

Do you remember what it was like to be in high school? If it's been a while, a lot has changed. But, there is so much that is still the same. In high school I had a very real awareness that there was life beyond high school. I cared about which college that I would go to, and what my career would be. But, I also lived my life very much in the moment. I see students today that make incredibly poor, life altering decisions, on a whim, because they can't see past today. Someday those same students will be standing on the sidelines of a football game and realize that they are strangers in that place.

We are sojourners or travelers or strangers in this thing that we call life. I like how David put it in Psalm 39:12 when he said to God, "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers."

Today, keep in mind that our lives our short. Pursue that which really matters. Love God. Love others. Declare His name among your world.

Dear God,

Help us not to get so wrapped up in the world around us that we lose sight of You. Help us to live for Your glory. Help us to love You with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.