The Proper Attitudes For After Summer Camp
The Museum of Natural History in London, England is the worldˇ¦s largest repository of plant life. It has a collection of over 5,200,000 plant specimens. There is a cold storage in the museum that houses bottle after bottle of seeds of different vegetation, especially those of rare and nearly extinct species. Scientists carefully preserve these seeds so that in the future they may be cultivated once more in a suitable place, lest these specimens disappear forever from earth due to environmental pollution and human destruction.
Seeds contain life. The Word of God is like the seed of a plant, containing great power to change lives. Our Lord used the circumstances of someone sowing seeds into different soil conditions to illustrate the results of people hearing the Word. Summer Camp is the best time to receive Godˇ¦s words. After hearing the message, we should convey the proper attitude and action in order that a life belonging to heaven can generate results on earth.
Faith in the Word: The Word of God will germinate and grow if a personˇ¦s heart is well prepared, and he does not reject it with a hard heart but receives it gladly, and rids himself of the worries of the world and the seduction of money. In the early church, ˇ§the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.ˇ¨ (Acts 6:7) The spreading of the Word of God has an intimate relationship with the faith and obedience of people. After hearing the gospel, people must combine it with faith (Hebrews 4:2). Then the Lordˇ¦s Way of Life will naturally express its effect. If a seed is kept inside a cold storage, it will not germinate and grow even after decades or hundreds of years, because the environment is not suitable. Dear brothers and sisters, donˇ¦t let your heart become a cold storage, so that the Word of God will not grow.
Carrying out the Word: James admonishes us: ˇ§Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.ˇ¨ (James 1:22-24) When the servant of God has unveiled the Way of Life, we will learn the will of the Lord. Through the Word, the Holy Spirit also illuminates the way we have been. Then we must immediately take action, and not be like the son who pays lip service to his father but does not obey in his deeds (Matthew 21:30). That is not carrying out the Word. Alas, there are many in the church who hear but do not act on the Word. Before their construction on sand collapses, it will have caused many to falter.
Preaching the Word: When we have experienced the preciousness of Godˇ¦s words, we will share with others in the hope that they will also receive the joy of salvation, just like the Lordˇ¦s disciples who sowed the seeds of the gospel and preached the Word that people should repent (Mark 6:12). This is in fact the command of Christ to the Church: ˇ§Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.ˇ¨ (Mark 16:15) The work of preaching the gospel is not the sole responsibility of the pastors and preachers. It is the living testimony of the children of God. What we preach is not just the gospel of Godˇ¦s salvation, but also the Lordˇ¦s righteousness and holiness. We proclaim the eternal view of life that Godˇ¦s wants people to focus on in the Bible, and the morality and values that He wants people to learn.
Protecting the Word: When we preach the Gospel, we will often meet people who doubt the Bible and challenge our beliefs. If we encounter those who preach a heathen religion or teach heresy, their questions may catch us off guard. Then we realize how impoverished our knowledge of Godˇ¦s words is. A mature Christian is not someone who just carries out and preaches the Word, he is also a crack soldier who protects the Word. Dear brothers and sisters, we must strive to pursue knowledge of God, build up ourselves upon the most holy Way of Truth, and use the pure Word of God to counsel one another. Be aware of the influence of heretics and the thoughts of the world, and wield well the sword of the Holy Spirit to fight ardently for the Way of Truth. We do not live in a museum, but are situated in a spiritual battlefield. The Word of God is not an object of display, but a weapon in this spiritual warfare.
ˇ§Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." (Luke 8:18)
By: Daniel To