“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
Well, here we are again at youth camp. It is our annual event once a year when the youth groups from our sister churches get together for a week of fun (depending upon your definition of fun). This is our 15th year in a row of this camp, and the impact made in young lives is fruitful and life changing. There are usually a number of great decisions for the Lord during this week. Last year we had 9 kids get saved, and we already have one this year (it’s Tuesday afternoon). The bonds of friendship that have been created at these camps continue to grow. Some of these kids have been coming to camp for many years. Even after they graduate from High School, they keep coming back to be counselors and workers. God keeps working in their lives in times like these.
One of the best things about camp is getting away for a few days. I am typing these words on Tuesday evening with absolutely no idea what is happening with the debt crisis in Washington that was supposed to mark the end of the world today. I have no idea how my fantasy baseball team is doing this week, or what the latest news is coming from the Chiefs training camp. I guess I should care, but somehow, I really don’t. It is amazing how much passion, time, and interest we invest in things that we really can’t do all that much about. It’s not so much that things don’t “matter”, because they do. The debt crisis is important to all of us. But what can one person do about 14 trillion dollars? What contribution can I possibly make to the outcome of a Royals’ game? It’s not like they take the field and then say, “Hey, how are we supposed to win if Greg isn’t watching?” These things are a part of the fabric of life, and as such, there is at least some meaning to them, even if it is only minor. But our focus should be on things that have eternal significance, even as we partake of the daily grind of life. The best part of camp and missions trips and such things is the strong reminder of that truth.
The reality of this week is that life on this planet will pass without my knowledge and without my involvement. It almost makes me depressed to think about how insignificant I really am in the grand scope of things, until I remember that the God of the Universe thought enough of me to die on the cross for my sins and give me a home in heaven with him. I am totally insignificant to this world, but not to the one who created it. Isn’t that a cool thought? No one outside of my family and maybe a few hundred friends would even notice or care if I died, and I am one of the lucky ones. I am “famous” because of my position. The vast majority of the inhabitants of this planet can’t even count on the “few hundred” friends. Yet God knows the very hairs of all of our heads.
Our significance in life comes not from the news or from our own personal accomplishments, but from the God who made us and loves us. While the world goes on and on without us, God’s word and his plan for us works in us and through us. Paul said in Philippians 2:13 that God works in us to accomplish his will through our lives, and in Philippians 1:6 he says that God will perform his will and work in our lives until he comes to take us home. So regardless of what they do in Washington or at Kauffman Stadium, our lives have eternal meaning. The world can just go right ahead and pass us by. In the process, we are passing the world by on our way home.
I Corinthians 7:31 says, “The fashion of this world passeth away.” Isn’t it interesting how the world uses Bible terminology even as they profess not to believe it. When someone dies, we use the euphemism “pass away” to try to lighten the seriousness of death. This world is dying a slow and agonizing death because of the rejection of the “way, truth and life”, our Lord Jesus Christ. Someday it will melt with a fervent heat, and God will bring forth a “new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:10-13). Until that time, let’s rescue as many of the perishing as we can with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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