It happens only in America. A day named for the chubby cousin of a rat. A town whose main event is a groundhog playing peekaboo. Like the Russian comedian says, "I love dis country!" Punxsutawney Phil emerged just after dawn this week and saw his shadow for just the 16th time since 1887 (he’s aged well through the years).

We even have a movie called "Groundhog Day." It's actually set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the home of the king groundhog. But it’s the premise of the movie, not the location that is intriguing.

Basically, Bill Murray plays a TV newscaster who keeps reliving the same day over and over again. It happens to be Groundhog Day in the town that's the epicenter of the celebration.
In the movie, the idea of repeating the same day again and again is played for laughs. Unfortunately, for too many people, that's their real life. And there's nothing funny about it.

Come to think of it, that’s how I’ve described my life at times to those who have asked, "What’s new?" I’ve responded, "Same old, same old." – and you know, that's how life feels for a lot of folks. Just a disconnected, seemingly meaningless series of events that start to feel pretty much the same. Shakespeare described it this way: "Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

OK, so that's not exactly how most of us would say it. We might just ask an honest question: "What's the point?"

We start wondering about, "Why am I here?" somewhere in our turbulent teens. Unfortunately, a lot of us do our whole life and still don't know the answer. We've got this pile of puzzle pieces on the floor in front of us, but we don't have the top of the puzzle box. We can't figure out what it all makes.

For me and for countless millions for over 2,000 years, that's where Jesus comes in. Not the religion called Christianity, but Jesus. People have written volumes on the purpose of life. God does it in six words in the Bible. He's talking about Jesus through Paul when He says we are "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). I'm created by Jesus. I'm created for Jesus. And life won't add up until I have Jesus. Or maybe more accurately, Jesus has me. Ultimately, that’s what life is all about. We have all kinds of life experiences from the good, the bad and the ugly; to the mundane and miracles—but until Christ has us, life will only be a series of flat line occurrences.

The only One who really knows the purpose of my life is the One who gave me my life. And He says that we were made for a relationship with Jesus; a relationship that our sin has spoiled, but a relationship that His death for our sin has made possible. As the earth's life depends on its revolving around the sun, so our life depends on our revolving around the Son...of God. We are reminded that, “He is before all things and in him all things hold together.”

It is our lives, and all of creation that is held together by Christ. We will all face trials and hard times, life is just that way. We can go from a mountain top to the valley in a heart beat, but because of Jesus we are held together.

I'm thanking God that life doesn't have to be a meaningless parade of days that replay the same old questions and the same old emptiness. On the day we step into the Relationship we were made for, we step into "more" God put us here for. And the search is over.

Art