I just returned from leading a weekend retreat with ten members of my youth group. I selected the theme of "Becoming" and chose Romans 12 as the Scripture passage. Over the course of the weekend, I was invigorated by the sincere desires and earnest dreams that I sensed within my youthful friends.

The theme itself came from the song "Place in this World," by Michael W. Smith. In the song, he uses the turn of phrase, "And this becoming is harder than it seems." For so many of our youth, this sentiment is a cold reality. I wonder how much we adults contribute to this reality. How often do we judge our young people by what they wear or how they look instead of seeking to discover the love they hold within them?

One of my youth members, in discussing the weekend afterwards, made the comment, "The whole weekend, everything, was about love; it's the only real way to live." May we all take something from this insightful young man and strive to give to his generation all the love and acceptance that our Christian hearts can muster … because every one of them is special and every one of them needs to hear that message.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to look beyond the surface to discover the beautiful person that lies below the hurt and pain within us all. Help us to love the young people in our lives and seek to give them the guidance and caring that they need as they grow. Help us to remember that it is not only our youth that must grow in faith and maturity, but that we are all in a process of becoming, together. Amen.

Years ago, I ran across a framed certificate of recognition that I had been given a year or so before by my congregation for my leadership of the Youth Group. As soon as I turned it over, I remembered why it was stored away in a box rather than hanging on my wall.

After I had received it, I put it in the trunk of my car. When I next saw it, I noticed that the writing had become smeared, and I assumed that some water had gotten under the glass and ruined the certificate. At the time, things were not going well with the operation of the Youth Group, and the smearing on this once-distinguished recognition seemed all too appropriate.

However, after I had run across it again and had had a closer look, I realized that the smearing was just some ink on the outside of the glass. The certificate itself was not harmed at all, and a little water wiped away the problem. By that time, things were running extremely well with the Youth Group.

The incident left me to wonder at just how easy it is to focus on the negative smears in our lives and forget the good that we have done. In a society that constantly demands us to be our best and to avoid failure at any cost, it is too easy to forget the good that God has placed in us as part of His creation. Yes, we are sinful; yes, we make mistakes; but YES! Let us rejoice that we have a heavenly Father Who blesses us and walks with us despite our failures. Pray with me:

Prayer: Thank You, Father, that You know me for who I am, even when I'm not sure. Thank You that You believe in me, even when I can't believe in myself. Thank You that Your love wipes away the smears that darken my soul, so that even I can catch a glimpse of the beauty that lies beneath. Amen.

I just returned from leading a weekend retreat with 10 members of my youth group. I selected the theme of "Becoming" and chose Romans 12 as the scripture passage. Over the course of the weekend, I was invigorated by the sincere desires and earnest dreams that I sensed within my youthful friends.

The theme itself came from the song "Place in this World," by Michael W. Smith. In the song, he uses the turn of phrase, "And this becoming is harder than it seems." For so many of our youth, this sentiment is a cold reality. I wonder how much we adults contribute to this reality. How often do we judge our young people by what they wear or how they look instead of seeking to discover the love they hold within them?

One of my youth members, in discussing the weekend afterwards, made the comment that, "the whole weekend, everything, was about love; it's the only real way to live." May we all take something from this insightful young man and strive to give to his generation all the love and acceptance that our Christian hearts can muster…because every one of them is special and every one of them needs to hear that message.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to look beyond the surface to discover the beautiful person that lies below the hurt and pain within us all; help us to love the young people in our lives and seek to give them the guidance and caring that they need as they grow; help us to remember that it is not only our youth that must grow in faith and maturity, but that we are all in a process of becoming, together. Amen.

I recently ran across a framed certificate of recognition that I was given a year or so ago by my congregation for my leadership of the Youth Group. As soon as I turned it over, I remembered why it was stored away in a box rather than hanging on my wall.

You see, after I had received it, I put it in the trunk of my car. When I next saw it, I noticed that the writing had become smeared and I assumed that some water had gotten under the glass and ruined the certificate. At the time, things were not going well with the operation of the Youth Group and the smearing on this once distinguished recognition seemed all too appropriate.

However, now that I've run across it again and had a closer look, I realize that the smearing is just some ink on the outside of the glass. The certificate itself is not harmed at all and a little water wiped away the problem. (As a side note, things are running extremely well with the Youth Group now.)

The incident left me to wonder at just how easy it is to focus on the negative smears in our lives and forget the good that we have done. In a society that constantly demands us to be our best, to avoid failure at any cost, it's too easy to forget the good that God has placed in us as part of his creation. Yes, we are sinful; yes, we make mistakes; but YES we have a heavenly Father that blesses us and walks with us despite our failures.

Prayer: Thank You, Father that You know me for who I am, even when I'm not sure; thank You that You believe in me, even when I can't believe in myself; and thank You that Your love wipes away the smears that darken my soul, so that even I can catch a glimpse of the beauty that lies beneath. Amen.

A scene near the end of the movie shows the condemned prisoner, Matthew Poncelet, strapped to a table and elevated in an almost upright position to show the witnesses that he is ready for execution. In this positioning, he looks like he is in a crucifixion pose. At first, I wondered, "Wait, how can they portray this killer in a Christ-like pose."

But only upon later reflection did I realize that this scene was not depicting an image of Christ; instead I understood it to be an image of the robber who hangs beside Jesus at Calvary, the robber who represents us: sinful and undeserving.

That's how I saw Poncelet: sinful and undeserving. We're lucky that God looks deeper. In a very moving scene just prior to the one mentioned above, Poncelet admits to his role in the murders. He accepts responsibility for his actions, he truly and sincerely seeks forgiveness, he makes a choice for life in the midst of death. That's the choice we have to make in the midst of the death and darkness that we face every day.

Luke 23:39-43 – Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

So which robber will you choose to be: the one who rails against Jesus, or the one who believes and will be with Him in paradise?!