So this past week we participated in VBS (Vacation Bible School) with the Council of Churches. And did we have a great turn out! Every year I am inspired and encouraged by the Spirit of Jesus at VBS. This year we had just about 50 kids (15 of them under 5!) learning about God and living in "God's Backyard" (Thanks to Standard Publishing).
We learned that the most important commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and all our strength! Let me assure you that it takes all your heart, soul, mind and strength to teach, help and be part of VBS.
My favorite moment at VBS always comes on the last night when some kid realizing it is the last night cries that they will not be coming back tomorrow. It is wonderful to see and feel the energy of Christ in the children. This year I was able to teach the Pre-schoolers 4 out of the 5 nights. In the beautiful chaos that is pre-school I am always taken a back by what the children remember and understand about Jesus. One little girl stood out, when I asked a question about "what are we talking about today" or "what is our theme?" This little girl always raised her hand high only to give the same response - "Jesus!" Well although that was partially right - there was always another theme: serve family, serve friends, serve neighbors, serve community, serve Jesus.
But that got me thinking - JESUS is behind all of that and JESUS is the reason we were there and is the reason we come to Church on Sundays and even for our church buildings to exist. Jesus is the answer! How quickly do we forget that though when we are focused on our task at hand or trying to keep the details correct? How quickly do we assume we remember that JESUS is at the center of the Church life when we are busy planning and putting things into action?
Christian living is intentionally living for Christ - intentionally following God and trying to make our choices in conjunction with the Spirit and not our own wills. Living for Jesus should open our life up to new opportunities and we should live to serve - not just our friends, family, neighbors or community but Jesus. We cannot let our life get so "full" that we forget to recognize the reason we are here. Worship and prayer are just as important for our church life (if not more) then our meetings, fellowship and of course our buildings.
So 1, 2, 3 LET'S GO! Worshiping and serving Jesus in our whole world and living intentionally for Christ!
