06/04/2026
"The Mall"
When I was younger (a lot younger), my friends and I would sometimes ride our bikes down to Northcross mall on Friday nights. This was back when Austin was Austin and you could do that sort of thing. Now, part of the excitement of it was the bike ride, and it was fun watching the people on the ice skating rink (although I can’t remember us ever skating), but the real reason we went was the arcade. This was before cell phones, X Boxes, PS 5’s, even before Atari and Nintendo. Back then, if you wanted to play video games, you had to go to the arcade.
And it was awesome. It was kind of like an adolescent version of Vegas. I remember just standing outside of the arcade looking through the door. All the flashing lights. All the ringing and roaring. And you could literally feel the excitement of the people. Stepping through that door and into that arcade was like stepping into a different, and much better, world. It was like stepping out of the mundane everyday world of homework and chores and teen angst, into a world of sensory overload and excitement and just plain fun.
Most of us can think of similar times in our own lives. For some of us, it may actually be a casino. For others, it might be walking onto that cruise ship. Or it might just be waiting to get on the plane for an extended vacation. We all have those times when we’re standing in the lives we’ve been living and looking through the door into a different world, a better world, a world where the deepest desires of our souls will be fulfilled.
Of course, it never actually works out that way. Eventually the novelty and excitement of the arcade wore off (right about the time I ran out of quarters). Eventually, the attraction of the casino pales (about the time the credit card maxes out). Eventually, the cruise ends and the vacation is over. And whatever it is, it never lives up to our desires. It’s fun, but it never gets deep. We may find happiness for a little while, but we never find the deep and meaningful peace and joy we’re looking for—the peace and joy that’s missing in the everyday, mundane world we’re trying to escape.
All of which reminds me of another time in my life. I was standing in the mess I’d made of my life and looking through a different door. There weren’t blinking lights or enticing noises on the other side. In fact, there wasn’t anything to see or hear. There was just a promise; a promise that this time was different; that a new and different life was possible, really possible. That the discontent, anger, and fear I had been living with wasn’t what I was created for. That regardless of all the incredibly stupid things I had done in my life, I was still deeply and divinely loved. I stood in the life I had made for myself and looked through the door into the kind of life I was created to live. And I stepped through. I put my trust in Jesus.
And I’ve got to say, my experience since hasn’t been like the arcade. Now, at least in my case, there wasn’t the instant excitement of being overwhelmed with sensory overload. On the other hand, the novelty and excitement hasn’t worn off. Instead, it just seems to keep getting better and better. I’m living a new and different and better life. I’m finding the joy and contentment that eluded me before and, instead of fading away, it just seems to be getting deeper over time.
I think this is what Jesus was talking about when he said he is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). We were created to live in love and joy—in relationship with the God who created us. But, if we’re honest with ourselves, most of the time we don’t. Most of the time, despite what we may put on our Facebook posts, we’re just trying to survive from day to day and get to the end of our lives without too many bad things happening to us. That’s not living.
We were created to live. So, we chase after stuff that we think will bring us real life. But despite all the blinking lights and exciting noises, we always just end up back in our old lives. Jesus offers us something different. Jesus offers us something real. Jesus offers us life. He’s waiting just on the other side of that door. All you’ve got to do is walk through.
-Pastor Tommy
