So, with a name like “Physical vs. Spiritual,” you probably expect some deep blog about this world and heaven. The truth is, I’m only talking about my current state after this weekend. We took a group of 15 teenagers to Camp Berea in Hebron, NH, for a retreat called “Deep Freeze.”
In short, I am physically tired. As you can probably assume, I didn’t get a ton of sleep. I also spent about 4 hours snow tubing on Saturday, which included climbing up the hill over and over (and falling off the tube a couple of times). I ran around hurling dodgeballs at students/adults. I sang really loud, sometimes screaming. The list could go on, but I’ll spare you the details. Put simply, I’m worn out.
However, I am spiritually renewed. I told the students I did not have many personal expectations of this weekend. I normally do, but for some reason, I did not plan on growing as much as I did. Overall, I was energized in two ways. One was in the area of my personal walk with God. I was reminded that I, once again, need to step up my Bible reading and prayer time life. The second area dealt with the students. It was awesome to see them opening up themselves and letting God work. We even had 3 high school students who decided they needed/wanted to make a first-time commitment to Christ! That’s what this is all about, guys — seeing lives changed by God.
Tonight, I watched the newest episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which was taped in Manchester, NH. They helped a family who lost their entire house in the floods of 2006. It was incredible to see how we can impact others. This family was so moved by the kindness and generosity of ABC and their community. This makes me think. I wonder what kind of an impact the church can make on the world if we just began to act like Christ. The church in Acts gave everything they had and no one was in need. Can we duplicate something like that in today’s church? I sure hope so, because I believe that’s what God wants us to do — impact lives one at a time.
Steve Cullum 