Daily Lesson for June 15, 2016

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 18 verses 1 through 6:

tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

This week one of the major camp themes is "God is Not".  This is taken from 1 Kings where Elijah goes up to Mt Horeb and there is a fierce wind, and a mighty earthquake, and a great fire but the LORD was not in any of those.  Then there was the sound of sheer silence; and that was where God was found to speak.

So much of what we have been doing here at camp is seeking to breakdown these kids' notions of what and who the LORD is and where this God might be found. They have been told by so much of the world, their parents, and even their churches that God is mighty.  But their understanding of might is no different from the world's understanding. It's a might that is never fragile, never vulnerable, never suffers, and never, ever dies. It's a God of wind, earthquake, and fire.

A God like that is ultimately going to be a tremendous disappointment. For a God like that will fail us in our hour of greatest need.  When we want to call down fire from heaven to consume our enemies like Elijah did, the lighting will never strike. What we will instead get is the sound of sheer silence.

So the task this week is to get us thinking about the God of sheer silences, the God who is vulnerable, the God who comes to us not in a mighty blaze of thunder, but one who comes to us weak and begging and in need -- one who comes to us like a child.

"And the one who is like this," Jesus said, "is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."