CWE Pre Camp Devo #9

2 Peter 1:7b

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;  and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

1 Corinthians 13: 1-8

If I speak in the tonguesof men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,but have not love, I gain nothing.   Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

“THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION”

It was hot.  It was sweaty.  It was loud.  Hundreds of kids and staff members were yelling at the top of their lungs, urging their tribe on to victory.  What had begun almost two weeks before, and had been contested every day by every camper.  What on this day had begun over two hours previously with the lead going back and forth again and again, now came down to this…two of the oldest male campers battling it out, mano-a-mano, for the victory.  The day…the last Friday of any session at Camp Ozark or Camp War Eagle.  The time…almost noon.The event…The Ultimate Solution, an all camp relay featuring every camper at camp that determines who wins tribal completion for the session (or sometimes, for the year).

 If you have never been to Camp Ozark or Camp War Eagle before, you may have a difficult time grasping the excitement, the passion, the meaning of the event.  You will just have to experience it for yourself.  For me personally, it is my absolute favorite event at camp…bar none.  The Ultimate Solution at camp represents the culmination of hours of practice, preparation, participation, perseverance, and passion.  It is the end result, the climax of the session or even the summer.  It is the determinant.  It is, well, it is the Ultimate Solution.

In today’s scripture, Peter lays out his own, much more important “ultimate solution.”  It is the ultimate solution for the believer.  As Peter confronts his coming death, he has now fully stated his case to the early church, to the believers who must carry the torch of Christianity forward.  He has told all believers that first, you must settle the matter of your own faith.  Do you really believe?  Do you really trust?  Do you really commit?  Once the matter of your faith is settled, Peter tells us, you must then, because your heart is changed, strive for goodness…all the time.  As we are striving for goodness, Peter exhorts us to thirst for knowledge, the knowledge that only the scripture can bring.  Peter then tells us that to be effective in our ministry we must be consistent in our ministry, and being consistent in our ministry requires self-control and perseverance.  Next, Peter encourages us, as we begin to mature, to become more and more like God, like Christ.  As we begin to fully submit to Him, we are then able to practice brotherly kindness, the Golden Rule.  Finally, Peter tells us, that the result of all of these characteristics working together in our lives brings us to the ultimate solution for the believer…love. 

The Bible speaks of three different types of love, “eros,” which is romantic love, “phileo,” which is brotherly love and “agape,” which is Godly, or unconditional love, not dependent on the response or behavior of the recipient.  The ultimate solution for the believer is “agape,” being able to consistently practice unconditional love in every situation.  This summer you will have the opportunity to love, unconditionally.  If you can only “phileo,” you will do a pretty good job, but if you can learn to consistently “agape,” you will do a great job.  More importantly, you will experience a great joy, a great peace, and a great satisfaction.  Peter is telling all of us that there is much more to our relationship with God than just salvation.  Jesus must become our Lord.  We must belong to Him, be conformed to Him, and walk daily with Him.  Agape love does not just happen.  It is a process based on the building blocks that Peter has set forth and that Paul expresses so beautifully in the familiar passage of 1 Corinthians 13.  Agape love is indeed, the “ultimate solution” for the Christian.

On this particular Friday, the two final runners took the baton just seconds apart.  The lead changed hands a couple of times as these two long-time campers, the two final runners for their tribes, battled it out.  As they neared the end of the race it seemed that one had secured the lead and thus victory for his tribe.  For a brief few seconds my view was blocked, but then as the runners came over the wall they were dead even.  They hit the landing mat at the same time and arose together to sprint the final few feet to the tape…Caddo verses Osage…the session on the line…the Ultimate Solution.  It just doesn’t get any better than that.