Friday, July 8, 2011
I love this song. I don't know many people who don't. This song has actually been quite popular this summer at camp. You know, it's been a difficult couple of weeks. Good and rewarding, but also challenging. It's certainly been a test in leadership, and I've definitely learned the importance of taking initiative, but I've also realized the fact that I can't do everything by myself. I go to bed every night exhausted, and come home every weekend worn out and sore and not wanting to move from the couch. That's the difficult part of the past two weeks, but the good and rewarding part is getting to know some amazing people! I get to work with some awesome counselors, one of them being my best friend:
One night this past week, we were singing the song "How He Loves," and I was spending some sweet time with Jesus and reflecting on the extent His love for me goes. It goes much farther than I can comprehend, which is crazy, because, well, I'm... me! What would make the Creator of the entire universe, the God with no beginning and no end send His Son, part of His being, to die a dirty and disgraceful death for me!? Crazy, insane love that I cannot fathom. Oh, how He loves us! He loves us to the point of death! I wonder what it was like for Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane that night He knew He was going to be arrested. I mean, we get glimpses of His sorrow in the gospels, but I wonder what it was like beyond the description that words can give. I am sure that it was beyond what any man could bear. And yet, even in His agony, Christ's prayer to His Father was, "nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus knew the purpose for which He came to this world. It wasn't for Himself. It was to be a blessing to "all the peoples on earth" (Gen. 12:3). He came and He lived and He died out of love for us. Oh, how He loves us! So, as we were singing this song, I was telling God how tired I am and how much I just need some encouragement and strength from Him, and reflecting on His incomprehensible love, and He reminded me once again, this work is not about me. Jesus came to earth to carry the weight of the world's sins to death. He knew this and He did it because He loves us that much. I am not Christ, but I have been called to serve a people for a time. I know this is my purpose for the summer. I may feel tired and I may not desire to fulfill everything that is required of me, but I will do so out of love for the people I am serving and for my God who loves me first.
This past week, I was looking for a few verses to encourage the team that I am working with this summer, and I loved the words of Paul to the church in Corinth when he says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, whether to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved" (1Corinthians 10:31-33). I also appreciated what commentary my footnotes had to say about this passage: "Doing all to the glory of God involves encouraging fellow Christians and spreading the good news about Christ. Paul accomplished this by refusing to offend Jews, Greeks, or the church of God, even if it meant restricting his freedom. Like Christ, Paul did not seek his own way or do things for his own pleasure; instead, he desired to help others. This should be our desire as well" (NKJV Nelson Study Bible). It was just one more reminder that I am not here for me. I am here because God has called me to serve here, and I am to fulfill my calling out of love for Him and love for His people, even when it means restricting my freedom. Please pray that God continues to reveal His love to the students that come through camp this summer as well as to those of us who are working here for the next three weeks.
I've also made some great friends with some awesome kids:
I've seen God do some great things, both in the lives of the students I've gotten to know and in my own life. I love what I'm getting to do this summer, and I love the people I get to do it with. But, sometimes I just want to stop working, and spend some time by myself in a quiet, air conditioned room, maybe take a long nap, and not have to worry about bugs or kids or schedules. There are times that I don't want to clean up the bathroom or watch the kids at the lake for two hours or sit with a child at 3 in the morning because she's homesick. There are plenty of times I don't want to do plenty of things. Yet, I have to keep reminding myself that this work is not about me. I may not want to do these things, but I do them because I LOVE the people I get to do them for.
One night this past week, we were singing the song "How He Loves," and I was spending some sweet time with Jesus and reflecting on the extent His love for me goes. It goes much farther than I can comprehend, which is crazy, because, well, I'm... me! What would make the Creator of the entire universe, the God with no beginning and no end send His Son, part of His being, to die a dirty and disgraceful death for me!? Crazy, insane love that I cannot fathom. Oh, how He loves us! He loves us to the point of death! I wonder what it was like for Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane that night He knew He was going to be arrested. I mean, we get glimpses of His sorrow in the gospels, but I wonder what it was like beyond the description that words can give. I am sure that it was beyond what any man could bear. And yet, even in His agony, Christ's prayer to His Father was, "nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus knew the purpose for which He came to this world. It wasn't for Himself. It was to be a blessing to "all the peoples on earth" (Gen. 12:3). He came and He lived and He died out of love for us. Oh, how He loves us! So, as we were singing this song, I was telling God how tired I am and how much I just need some encouragement and strength from Him, and reflecting on His incomprehensible love, and He reminded me once again, this work is not about me. Jesus came to earth to carry the weight of the world's sins to death. He knew this and He did it because He loves us that much. I am not Christ, but I have been called to serve a people for a time. I know this is my purpose for the summer. I may feel tired and I may not desire to fulfill everything that is required of me, but I will do so out of love for the people I am serving and for my God who loves me first.
This past week, I was looking for a few verses to encourage the team that I am working with this summer, and I loved the words of Paul to the church in Corinth when he says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, whether to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved" (1Corinthians 10:31-33). I also appreciated what commentary my footnotes had to say about this passage: "Doing all to the glory of God involves encouraging fellow Christians and spreading the good news about Christ. Paul accomplished this by refusing to offend Jews, Greeks, or the church of God, even if it meant restricting his freedom. Like Christ, Paul did not seek his own way or do things for his own pleasure; instead, he desired to help others. This should be our desire as well" (NKJV Nelson Study Bible). It was just one more reminder that I am not here for me. I am here because God has called me to serve here, and I am to fulfill my calling out of love for Him and love for His people, even when it means restricting my freedom. Please pray that God continues to reveal His love to the students that come through camp this summer as well as to those of us who are working here for the next three weeks.
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