Years ago, when our kids were young, we were out at a themed restaurant with TV's all over walls, playing cartoons with no sound. Our youngest son, who was about four at the time, had his eyes glued to the TV screen. He was watching a continuous loop of Road Runner cartoons, watching as Wile E. Coyote strapped on rocket-propelled roller skates, or shot himself out of a cannon, or launched himself from a giant slingshot in pursuit of the elusive Road Runner. After watching intently for a long time, he had an epiphany. Without taking his eyes off the screen, he quietly announced to our family, "No matter what he does, he's never going to get the chicken."

Isn't that the human storyline? No matter what we do, we're never going to beat sin and death. No matter how many self-help books we read, no matter how many promises we make to ourselves and others, sin continues to wreak havoc on our careers, our relationships, and our good times. No matter how many peace treaties are signed, no matter how many relief efforts are launched, we still can't fix what's wrong with the world. And no matter how many vitamins we take, no matter how much we exercise and eat right, no matter how many advances we make in medicine, we just can't beat death.

No matter what he does, he's never going to get the chicken. Every human being since Adam and Eve has lived his or her own version of that same story.