Feeling younger all the while

Oh, what a beautiful morning. There was a sweet smell in the air, a distinct lack of humidity, a sense of purpose perhaps after taking a day off. The youth of the church raised 2m412,63 for tornado victims in Oklahoma, with 20 or so using their first day off from school to do something for someone else.

It was a testimony to, uh, something greater than theirselves. It was a testimony to what the human spirit can do. It was perhaps, just perhaps a great, great testimony to a future influx of some might good kids into the church universal.

As I was pondering this morning, fretting over my sinfulness and my lack of growth and whatever morbid thing I could think of, I was greatly, greatly encouraged by the youth of the church. Then I to thinking about how there was no youth group in Jesus' ministry. With all the attention on the United Methodist Church's efforts to get younger or else...isn't it instructive that there was no youth mentioned in the scriptures?

Oh, maybe Timothy.
Maybe this that and the other.

But no UJY (United Jesus Youth) or whatever.

What does all this mean to us? I'm not sure, but I believe that raising a child up in the church still is the preferable course of action in all our lives. I'm pretty sure that because I was, raised up in the church, when my moment of difficulty came, I went scurrying back to what I knew. I suspect that's how this is all supposed to work.