Get with the program!

PROGRAM DIRECTOR’S UPDATE

Get With the Program!

For me, watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was always an exercise in patience. I was never very interested in the day’s “Speedy Delivery,” and I didn’t really care whether or not the goldfish got fed. I spent the majority of every episode simply waiting for Trolley to appear. Eventually, when that jazzy piano riff started-up and the colorful, little streetcar rolled out from behind the sofa, I knew things were finally gonna get good. That’s because Trolley had only one job: to transport us to the Kingdom of Make Believe. I just couldn’t get enough of that place. I mean, we’re talking about a magical land inhabited by talking owls, frequented by mutated man-dogs, and ruled by a literal puppet government. What more could I ask for? Taking that ten-minute Trolley trip to Make-Believe was worth sitting through the rest of Mr. Rogers’ show ... cardigan-changing and all.

So what does any of this have to do with program directing at Cowboy’s Rest? That’s an excellent question; and one which I’ll now attempt to answer. You see, recently, while developing the theme for this summer’s camps, I’ve come to the conclusion that, as Christians, all of us are in a situation similar to the one described above. We’re all waiting for a kingdom.

The Bible has a lot to say about the kingdom of God. In the New Testament alone it’s mentioned over 125 times. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus discusses His kingdom more than any other subject. And what an illustrious kingdom it is! Scripture reveals that when our Lord finally sits on His rightful throne, there will be no more wickedness, no more suffering, no more injustice, no more disease, no more corruption, no more war ... in short, no more sin. Rather, our King shall establish lasting peace. He shall rule in righteousness. He shall judge with fairness. And He shall reign for all eternity. (See Isaiah 9:6-7 and 11:1-9.) Now, that’s a kingdom worth waiting for! In light of that awesome Reality, sometimes our present existence can seem pretty lackluster by comparison. And occasionally, we find ourselves merely biding our time in this life while we wait for our King to appear -- not in a red Trolley, but on a white warhorse -- and whisk us away to His magnificent kingdom.

However, there’s a very good reason why we shouldn’t spend our lives passively awaiting the kingdom of Heaven. Namely, because it’s already here! When the Pharisees asked Jesus when they should expect the coming of the kingdom, He told them not to look for great, apocalyptic signs at first. Rather, he declared to them that “the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21) To the same group of folks Jesus pointed-out that the very fact the Holy Spirit was working miracles through Him revealed that “the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28) And so it is in our day. The Spirit is at work. Souls are being saved. God is being enthroned in the hearts of men. And, as the Apostle John writes, “the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.” (I John 2:8) The kingdom of God has come ... sort of.

Obviously, Jesus isn’t physically reigning on an earthly throne ... yet. And obviously evil hasn’t been utterly vanquished ... yet. But as redeemed saints, we ourselves have indeed entered the kingdom. The Apostle Paul reminds us that the Father has “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son...” (Colossians 1:13)

We don’t have to wait around until the end of the age to start living by the kingdom’s law of love. We don’t need to twiddle our thumbs for a lifetime before joining the quest to expand its spiritual borders. The kingdom is here. The kingdom is now. So, let’s live like it.

The next question, of course, is ... how? How do I live for such an indescribably glorious future while still going about my quite describably mundane routine at school or work or home? Well, to learn the answer to that question, you’ll have to attend camp at the Rest this summer (... or just read your Bible ... or do both ... yeah, I would recommend doing both). As you may have noticed a couple pages back, our theme this year is “Klash of the Kingdoms”. During chapel sessions, we’ll be talking all about this tension between “the already” and “the not-yet” in which we believers live. We’ll also be discussing the much more vehement tension (or clash, or struggle, or all-out cosmic war) that exists between the kingdom of God and that other kingdom; the one Paul calls “the domain of darkness.” Most importantly, we’ll be digging into the Gospel of Matthew to see what Jesus Himself has to say about all this. After all, He is the King of the kingdom. He is “Rex regum et Dominus dominantium!”

So, yeah, you should definitely come to camp this summer. (And if you’re a bit past prime camper age, then you should come volunteer and serve on our staff for a week.) Beyond that, we should all start living more like we’re citizens of a heavenly realm and like Jesus is actually on the throne. After all, someday soon, we’ll all be able to gather

’round that throne and sing, “It’s a beautiful day in the ... kingdom!”

No cardigans necessary.

steve burrows,
program director