How does God rate in your life?

October 22, 2008

People are sure busy.  Are you?  I find myself constantly amazed by the great number of responsibilities, commitments and activities that our youth and families try to juggle on a monthly and weekly basis.  Youth are not sitting at home trying to think of things to do with their spare time, but rather the youth I talk to are regularly being forced to decide between 2, 3 or 4 competing interests.  “Should I go to my homecoming game, my sports tournament or a weekend retreat with my youth group?”  These are dilemmas that are not uncommon.

The challenge falls on the adults and parents of our church to model healthy habits that demonstrate appropriate priorities.  Sports are fun, but coaches demand ever-increasing levels of commitment from younger and younger children.  School is important, especially when grades are involved, but we should be able to remind teachers which activities are extra-curricular.  The fact of the matter is that some families are hardly ever in the same place at the same time.  It is not a surprise that many families are fractured and many of us “out of touch” even with those living under the same roof.

In the midst of this swirling life, our young people (and all of us) need some fixed reference points from which to get our bearings and steady our balance.  The rhythm of faith can be incredibly helpful in maintaining order amidst chaos.  The example of parents who make church attendance and other discipleship practices  regular parts of their own lives, serves as a witness to the value of church and faith as a consistent part of life.

As I said, kids are not looking for things to do, but they will invest their time and energy in things that they perceive to possess value.  I’m happy to report that being a part of this church and our youth group is a priority carrying greater and greater value for many of our youth.  Attendance at events and regular meetings has doubled over the past year.  When informed of an event or opportunity, kids are no longer asking, “is this required?”  but rather, “Can I bring a friend?” 

With tons of trips and teams and opportunities to choose from for the coming year, more than 20 of our youth have made the commitment to attend the 2009 ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans next summer.  This demonstrates commitment.  Ten of our high schoolers spent the past weekend on retreat at Mt. Cross, and with the regular pressures of life and the demands of school, 3 of our youth were elected by their peers to work with the Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee over the coming months to plan and run retreats for the youth of our Synod.  This demonstrates passion.

Our culture places a tremendous value on having a great variety of choices, and we do.  We have movie theaters with 20 screens, malls with dozens of stores, restaurants with all varieties of food.  We make choices every day, hundreds of them.  Our kids make choices too.  No longer are we limited to the people around us when striking up a conversation.  With cell phones in hand we can be in contact with anybody, anywhere at anytime.  With IPods in our ears we can listen to any music at anytime without anybody else knowing.  The presence of choice in the lives of our youth is pervasive.  We want our kids to learn to make their own choices and to make good choices.

As parents, adults and members of this community of faith our actions speak much louder than our words.  Is your relationship with God something that’s important to your whole life?  Or is it something you relegate to select Sunday mornings?  Does faith really have value or is it just the right thing to do?  Our young people are asking serious questions about God, and your life might provide the answer to their questions.  May our lives together extend hope in Jesus Christ.

Rev. Adam D. Knudson

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