"And it's hard to say who you are these days-but you run on anyway

You keep running for another place to find that saving grace..."

                                                                        Tom Petty, "Saving Grace"

Even though an American rock and roll star wrote this song in 2005, it describes me perfectly in 1982.  I was in high school then in Kansas City.  My life was what every teenager of the 80s desired: I had my drinking buddies, a girlfriend, and I was even captain of the track team. The gods of high school smiled upon me. 

"Jim, what is the matter with us?  We say we are Christians,  but our lives are no different than someone who doesn't claim to be one."

I grew up in a religious home.  However, God was not real in my daily life.  I was troubled by doubts.  Religion for me was more of a tradition and following a list of dos and don'ts.  God seemed far off.

During university, I was tempted to reject God but I couldn't honestly do so because of the exemplary life of my father.  He was a biochemistry professor and also a true follower of Jesus Christ.