Why Are We Here—Middle School Camp 1
On the first Monday of July, a rowdy crew of middle school campers hauled their bags to their cabins and then thundered down to the beautiful mountain meadow at Camas Meadows Bible Camp to play games.
During Monday’s chapel session, Pyro, (our speaker) compared the story of creation from the Bible to the Sumerian creation myth.
The Ancient Sumerians believed that Enki made people because the lesser gods were tired of working. Humans were made to toil in the service of the gods as servants or slaves. However, Enki was drunk when he began his creative process. Never a great way to start. All the people he made had broken bits. Broken hands, feet , brains, and internal organs. Every person had some significant defect.
Compare that to what God says about His creative process in Genesis 1:26-31.
We are made in God’s image (Male and Female).
We are good.
We are stewards over our world.
We have important work to do.
Just like God, we are to take the wilderness (the wildness), and cultivate it into gardens.
God took the unformed world and gave it substance, beauty, and fruitfulness.
Then, he gave Adam and Eve the job of cultivating the world He had created. We are not the Creator, but God gave humans a passion for creating, using all of the amazing things He made in beautiful ways. He also tasked us with caring for His world. We create beauty and fruitfulness out of chaos. We were made to cultivate gardens out of wilderness, just like God our father.
The contrasting truth of Scripture takes what we think about ourselves and the lies Satan tells (that we are badly constructed slaves made on a drunken whim) and shows how much more we are when viewed through God’s eyes instead of the misunderstanding and guesswork that the world uses to define us.
God wants us to work with Him, not be His slaves. We are made well, not as an afterthought with sloppy workmanship. And after all His creative work was completed, God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the garden. He invites us into relationship with Him, as family.
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
On Tuesday, Pyro spoke from Philippians 2 and the theme was: Caring for and about others!
Pyro explained that there may come a time when you encounter someone who thinks that believing in God means that you are confusing fiction with fact. They may think that Scripture was written for people without an understanding of science and such a faith should stay in the ancient past.
In answer to that critique, Pyro dove into Scripture to show how following Jesus produces the incredible fruits of God’s Spirit in our lives and unites people from all tribes and nations. Not something just for ancient times, after all.
And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.
Genesis 22:18
I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the LORD,
who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest,
and who hold fast to my covenant.
I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem
and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices,
because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
Isaiah 56:6-7
At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.
When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
Acts 2:5-6
They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.
Acts 2:46
Here is what Pyro said about how those first Christians lived out their faith: “They were working together. They pooled their resources and worked to take care of the sick and poor, visit those in prison, help the needy, and set the oppressed free. They brought the Kingdom of God to life.”
On Wednesday, Pyro spoke about how Jesus came as a sacrificial servant, not a bossy tyrant. He compared the life of Christ with myths about ancient gods and the lives of the heroes and leaders from long ago. Christ completely broke people’s expectations and showed them a different kind of power.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Philippians 2:5
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
Philippians 2:6
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
Philippians 2:7
he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:8
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
Philippians 2:9
On Thursday, Pyro talked about how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
He explained how the word “fear” when used concerning the fear of the Lord is associated with a deep reverence, a concern for what God made us for and who God made us to be.
The fear of the Lord is also tied with turning away from evil.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Philippians 2:14-15
On Friday, Pyro talked about holding tightly to the Word of Life!
Pyro asked if any of the campers had worked with natural clay, not the kind from the store, but clay that you have to dig out of the ground.
The Camas Meadows area is full of natural clay. It sticks to your shoes, stains your clothes, and before we had gravel on Autumn Lily Lane, that natural clay made it impossible to get off the mountain for the entire month of April.
Pyro found and dug up some of this natural clay. “Can you just dig clay out of the ground and use it immediately?” he asked the campers.
He held up the lump of Camas Meadows clay and talked about the process needed for it to be usable and then the extensive shaping and firing needed before a clay pot can be put to use.
God uses clay and a potter as a metaphor for how He works to cleanse us of our wrong ways and shape us into people who show His fruits to those around us.
And what about you? Are you tempted to be the lump of clay telling the potter what you want to be formed into or are you willing to let the master work in your life? From tacos to shark masks to wildflowers, God use everything at camp this week to show His love to these amazing campers. You too can trust yourself into the potters hands.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6