“Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.“
St. John Paul II
They say it’s about the journey, not about the destination.
I can agree with that to some extent. But when our journey is with Christ, and our destination is Heaven – a perfect union with Jesus – I couldn’t possibly disagree more. When it comes to Him, it’s both.
I saw a Facebook post a while back on activities to do with your youth group over social media and Zoom. In this time of social distancing, one would think that all that “fun” stuff can’t be done. But friend, that “online” stuff I tend to dislike actually has advantages. We can show off pianos and pets and suits of armor over camera that we can’t exactly bring into a Church basement each week. “Show and Tell” is fun. But, I digress.
One of the activities I decided to do was a giant scavenger hunt.
Yes, I made a bunch of high school students run around their house to find as many of the 40 items presented in 15 minutes. The list included finding your favorite shirt, a box of tissues, a snack (because I make sure they’re fed), their favorite fork (yes, we should all have one), a Bible, a letter, and lots more fun things. It didn’t matter who finished first, it just mattered that they got what they could in the time allotted. They were told that whoever had the most items collected at the end would get their choice in picking their own snack when we get back to our regular in-person meetings. This is quite an exciting reward: we have a giant snack bucket with handles and wheels. They always get to pick their snacks, but this snack would be just for the winner. It’s quite a prize. Food is fantastic. Especially fruit snacks. A whole box to yourself? What could be better?
So the 15 minutes began. They knew their prize. And when the 15 minutes ended, we did “Show & Tell” for each item.
I asked them what they thought of the activity, and they all had something positive to say. It’s nice to get up and run around. It’s nice to feel like we have a purpose and mission.
I firmly believe there is a lesson in everything. Even if we just meet and spend time together, there’s a lesson in that: we’re built for community. But this lesson was something that, clearly, if you’re reading my blog, you know I’m quite passionate about.
I asked them, “what if the prize were something bigger?” Like a month-long trip to Disney if they found all the items. Or, if they, at 9:15PM, while no one is out (because it’s a Monday night, during the COVID-19 pandemic, mind you) ran and stood in the middle of their street for a few seconds, would they do it for a Disney trip? A million dollars? If the reward increased, would the risks they’re willing to take increase? Would the things they are willing to do and find all of a sudden become more meaningful if they knew their prize was bigger? What would their ultimate prize be?
That, friends, would be one heck of an adventure. To find the thing we’re always looking for?
Are we searching for the ultimate prize?
Maybe the better question is, do we know what the ultimate prize is? And the follow up to that? What are we willing to do to get it?
What if the prize were Heaven?
Well, what if I tell you the prize is Heaven?
Now, friends, if you’ve read about my blog (you can read the about page here), you’d know where we’re headed. Just read the blog title. You know that this is not our home. You know we’re made for more. And though a month-long, all-paid trip to Disney World is pretty fantastic, I promise you, Heaven is greater.
Friends, this – a life lived for Christ – is the greatest adventure. Christ is the ultimate prize. Calling Him this doesn’t do Him justice. But if we look at Him as, among an infinite number of other beautiful titles, the ultimate prize and the greatest adventure, we’d sure be willing to take those risks. We’d be willing to go on this adventure. We’d be willing to find our destination.
Finding Christ isn’t a one-and-done. It’s the greatest, lifelong adventure. We don’t just get to go to mass once, say to ourselves that we’ve found the Lord, and keep going. And that’s why this is the greatest adventure: it never ends.
In our search for the ultimate prize, on the greatest adventure ever lived, it’s important to think about three things: our company, our travel plans, and our suitcase.
Your company: who is traveling with you? Friends? Family? The Saints? Religious? Jesus? Yes, you need to have Jesus to keep finding Jesus. Once you know someone, your relationship keeps growing in love and depth.
Your travel plans: do you have a map? Are you taking stops? Are those stops beneficial, or are they detours? Are we making stops for Mass, Adoration, Confession, the Sacraments, time in community? Or are we stopping in places where we can’t see our destination? How are you getting back on the road when you run far?
Your suitcase: what are you carrying with you? Scriptures? Songs? Rosary beads? Just having these tools and leaving them untouched in your suitcase is useless if we don’t take them out and use them.
These are just beautiful starts. You’ll sooner or later find who and what works in your favor. We’re all different, and we all need different things to travel and connect. Just think about something you’ve wanted and gotten in your life – writing a thesis, a A+ on a test, a job, a career move, taking the next step in a relationship… you did it. And you didn’t do it alone. You had company, travel plans, and a suitcase full of people, plans, and tools you needed. And I’m assuming, even if only for a moment, all of that work was worth it. The risks were greatly endured for the reward. We know and understand the value of hard work.
If we’re willing to do it for something we’ll only have in this lifetime, why not do it for something we’ll have for eternity?
Are you willing to do that for Jesus? Just like I asked my high schoolers what risks they’d be willing to take, I ask you: what risks are you willing to take on this great adventure? Does it mean giving up certain sins and habits? Does it mean spending 5 less minutes watching TV to read scripture?
We, friends, have more than 15 minutes to do and find more than 40 things to get us to Heaven. We find what we can, when we can, and how we can. We might not be able to “find all 40 items”: I might never get to go on a mission trip, or a pilgrimage, or have the opportunity to go to Mass every day. We do our best. And we do it for the best. We don’t have to compete with other people to get to Heaven. Fruit snacks? Yes. Heaven? Never. It’s open to us all. We’re built for Heaven. Each and every one of us. To have an eternal union with Jesus is just… the ultimate prize. Just like they trust that once we return, they’ll get their snacks, we trust – we have faith – that how we live this adventure will be rewarded one day. It’s God’s promise.
The longing and desire we want fulfilled by the searches and the destinations and the prizes… that’s great. But we know that the only search, destination, and prize that will truly satisfy our desires is Christ. Let’s not run from this adventure. All that we do – hopefully inherently good and Godly things – we do through Him and for Him. Our careers, schooling, travels, families, communities are gifts we’ve been given on this adventure. Our hopes and dreams, for all these gifts, should seek to always glorify Him.
We’ll get lost. We’ll find answers. We’ll discover. We’ll camp out for a while and get lost in the world around us. But at the end of the day, if we ultimately keep our sights on Heaven, the adventure we’re living now on Earth is the best one imaginable. St. John Paul II said so beautifully: “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.”
How far are we willing to go?
