Briefing: The Runner’s Return

Executive Summary

This document synthesizes the core themes of a sermon centered on the metaphor of humanity as “runners.” The central argument posits that all individuals are running either toward or away from something. Most, however, are running toward false saviors—such as money, power, success, or feelings—in a misguided attempt to “save their life.” This pursuit, illustrated by the story of an escaped dog named Millie, paradoxically leads to spiritual death. The foundational text from Matthew 16, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it,” is presented not as a concept that is difficult to understand, but one that is difficult to experience, as it requires letting go of cherished idols. The Christmas story is framed as the ultimate enactment of this principle, with Jesus portrayed as the divine “runner” who, though rich, became poor and ran after humanity. The sermon concludes with the parable of the Prodigal Son, underscoring the final choice: to continue running toward perceived freedom that ends in ruin, or to turn and run back to a waiting and welcoming Father.

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1. The Central Metaphor: Humans as “Runners”

The sermon establishes its primary theme through an extended personal anecdote that frames the human condition as that of a “runner”—instinctively moving toward a perceived good, often to one’s own detriment.

The Parable of Millie the Basset Hound

The speaker recounts the story of Millie, a basset hound adopted from the Humane Society. To prevent her from running away, the speaker installed a sophisticated underground wire fence system designed to warn the dog with beeps before delivering an electric shock. After a month of rigorous training, Millie was let off her leash. She promptly looked at the speaker, bolted toward the back fence at top speed, and leaped through a barbed-wire barrier into a neighboring field.

The key insight derived from this experience is twofold:

1. “Runners gotta run”: It is in the nature of some beings to run, regardless of their circumstances.

2. The Flaw in the System: The fence’s warning system could be defeated by running through it fast enough, bypassing the deterrent shock.

Millie’s actions serve as a direct parallel to human behavior. She had everything she needed—food, shelter, care, and affection—yet she ran away from this provision. What she “perceived to be freedom” was, in reality, a path toward death, as she was incapable of finding food or water on her own in the Kansas countryside.

The Human Condition as a Runner

The sermon applies this analogy directly to the audience, stating, “We are all runners.” Like Millie, individuals are offered a life of provision but often choose to run toward something else. The central question posed is, “What are you running to?”

Common objects of human pursuit, or “false saviors,” are identified as:

• Power and control

• Feelings of being wanted and loved

• Knowledge and intellectualism

• Money and material wealth

• Sex and physical gratification

• Escape, through means like books, television, or food

A guiding principle is offered to help identify one’s primary false savior: “You will know what your God is because it’ll be what you run to when… things are hard.”

2. The Paradox of Salvation: Losing Life to Find It

The sermon transitions from the personal metaphor to its theological foundation, focusing on a teaching from Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew that is described as “cryptic.”

The Teaching of Jesus (Matthew 16:25-26)

The core scriptural argument is built on two key verses that articulate a central paradox of the Christian faith.

Verse (Matthew 16)	Key Interpretation
v. 25: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”	This verse addresses the human instinct to run toward things in an effort to “save” oneself. The speaker confesses that for 30 years, his life was spent “building up all of these little salvations” (money, perseverance, self-improvement). The teaching asserts that true life is found only by “losing” or letting go of these self-made saviors and running to Jesus instead.
v. 26: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”	This question emphasizes the ultimate futility of chasing worldly success. Gaining everything one runs after is a worthless trade if it costs one’s soul, defined as the “very essence of who you are” or a “whole person.” The core issue behind this destructive chase is identified as a lack of genuine trust in God.

The passage is described as cryptic not because its meaning is obscure, but because it is “hard to experience.” Its truth can only be verified by taking a step of faith and actually letting go of the things one is clinging to.

The Metaphor of the Raccoon Trap

To further illustrate the difficulty of letting go, the sermon introduces the analogy of a raccoon trap.

• The Trap: A box with a hole large enough for a raccoon’s open paw, containing a tempting food item (a “Twinkie”).

• The Dilemma: The raccoon can reach in and grab the food, but its clenched fist is too large to pull back through the hole.

• The Raccoon’s Choice: Unlike a human who would release the food to escape, the raccoon refuses to let go. It “holds onto the thing that it thinks it wants because it thinks that thing is life. And then it loses its life.”

This metaphor directly connects to the human tendency to cling to false saviors, even when they are the cause of our entrapment and spiritual demise. The warning extends even to professed Christians, who may run to “religious arrogance” as their idol.

3. The Christmas Narrative as the Ultimate “Run”

The sermon directly connects its central theme to the Christmas season, reframing the incarnation as the ultimate example of the “lose your life to find it” principle.

Jesus as the Archetypal Runner

The Christmas story is presented as an act of Jesus “losing his life to get the life that he really wanted,” which was humanity. The theological basis for this interpretation is 2 Corinthians 8:9:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Interpretation:

• He was rich: As God and Creator of the universe, Jesus possessed everything.

• He became poor: He gave up this divine status to become a helpless, dependent baby who couldn’t control his bladder, feed himself, or find a place to sleep.

• For your sake: His run toward poverty was a run toward humanity, in order for humanity to become spiritually “rich.”

The Radical Nature of the Incarnation

The sermon highlights how radical this concept was in the ancient world, where deities were associated with accumulating power and lording it over others (e.g., Pharaohs). The Christian message of a God who willingly becomes poor, vulnerable, and ultimately dies like a slave was revolutionary.

This is further emphasized by highlighting the homelessness of Jesus. Quoting Jesus’s own words (“foxes have holes… but me, I don’t even have a place to put my pillow”), the speaker concludes, “You worship a homeless man.” Jesus’s act of running toward humanity provides the model for humanity’s proper response: to run back toward him.

4. The Path of Return: The Prodigal Son

The sermon concludes by using the parable of the Prodigal Son as a final, comprehensive illustration of the entire theme.

The Narrative Arc:

1. Running Away: The son demands his inheritance and runs to a “far country,” squandering everything on pursuits he believes will bring him life and freedom.

2. Hitting Bottom: He loses everything and finds himself so destitute he longs to eat pig slop. This moment of total loss is what causes him to realize his mistake.

3. Running Back: He decides to return home, rehearsing a speech of repentance.

4. The Father’s Run: The climax of the story is that “while the young man was a long way off, the Father saw him and… ran to him.” The father doesn’t wait; he runs to embrace his son and restore him fully.

This story demonstrates that the path to life begins when the runner, having exhausted all other options, finally turns around to “run back to the Father.” It promises that this run will be met by a Father who is already running to welcome them home.

5. Key Questions and Conclusion

The sermon is structured around a series of incisive questions designed for self-reflection:

• What are you running to?

• What is the thing that you have spent most of your life chasing?

• What is the “Twinkie” you refuse to let go of?

• What is your “God”—the thing you run to when things are hard?

The final choice presented is clear: a person can continue running out into the field toward what they perceive as freedom but is actually death, or they can choose to run back to the home where “actual life exists.” The ultimate call to action is to stop running after false saviors and to begin running to Jesus.