Our relationship with Jesus is like a marriage. You love someone so much you can't wait to run into the arms of the one you love and want to spend the rest of your life with. On your wedding day, as you get to the alter you realize your garments you have on are dirty and have holes in them. While Jesus is the groom at the end of the aisle wearing pure, beautiful, clean garments. You want to run to the bathroom to wash them and fix them but there is nothing you can do. But the Father of the groom has had the solution for some time now. You freeze in the aisle not sure what to do, should you run away? You're not worthy to be there next to your beloved groom. But just before you decide to turn, Jesus starts walking towards YOU. As he walks down the aisle towards you, he begins to unzip his clothes, taking off his pure white clean garments and places them on you. You look at him thinking, "What do I have to do for these? What do I owe you?" but he says NOTHING, just put them on. He then takes your dirty holed garments and places them on walking towards the cross taking every piece of wrath that you deserve and dies on the cross paying for my sin.
This analogy was just beautiful. Just like 2 Corinthians 5:21 says "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."
Then this morning we recapped what we did this week, the principles and the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. We discussed what we were suppose to do now that the camp was over.
NOW WHAT?
Jon, one of the main staff leaders, said that this camp is not meant to just be a spiritual high and then eventually fade. It is a spring board to take you further. For example, he said gymnasts don't use a spring board to just fly through the air, but to help get them on the vault. The spring board is the way to the vault. UTC is a spring board for growth and a direction towards walking with Jesus Christ. An acceleration in direction. Spiritual highs don't produce fruit (John 15:1-17).
Then we talked about the Parable of the Sower, which explains 3 different ways a person can take what they learned and walk away with it. It's a good story and I recommend you read it for I am a bad story teller and give poor recounts. Read Matthew 13:1-9 and 13:18-23
Then Jon told us some steps to moving on after this camp. First, burn your ships. He said, Cortez the explorer of Mexico, landed on Mexico and told his crew to take everything off the boats. After they did so he set the ship on fire. He did this to make the point that there was no going back and only forward. So the question is what ships do you have to burn in order to follow Jesus and move forward in your walk with Christ. Secondly, you need community to grow. It's not about if you like them, if their weird, etc.. but can they help you grow. It's important to surround yourself with people who will keep you accountable, help you grow, and build you up.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience at this amazing camp. I grew so much and learned a lot about myself. I just pray that you have the opportunity to know Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with him. I will leave you with a verse from Matthew 13:44
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field."
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