“Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.”
– 2 Corinthians 8:11
Life at Camp, Part 9.
Quote of the Week
“In running and in life, we should focus less on where we’re going,
and more on where we want to end up.”
I’ve completed another leg of my life journey. The last two months have arguably been the most strenuous HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) session of my life. For 3-5 days, we’d have a hundred campers on-site and work hard. Then we’d get a day off to “rest” before doing it again.
But now we’re done. Camp is finished, and every Staff member has transitioned into a new season. Some return to work, some to school, and some to the unknown. As those final few days dawned, we asked ourselves: How do we finish well?
“How you finish is just as important as how you start,” one Staff member said. It’s much easier to work hard and give your best when it’s June, and you’ve got two months ahead of you. Then mid-August comes around. You’re tired. You’ve been at camp for two months. You’ve bunked with the same people for weeks. You’re left with a choice between finishing strong or dragging yourself over the finish line.
I don’t want to be one of those Christians who falls apart at the end. Paul tells us to finish the race well. (Which, incidentally, was the theme from Seniors’ Camp.) So for the culmination of this series, let’s discuss…
Finishing Well
I’m going to repeat myself: How you finish is just as important as how you start. I’d say it’s more important. When I began my job last year, I was pretty clueless and inexperienced. I didn’t start well. By the end, I had a much deeper understanding of the software and systems I was using. I finished better than I started.
You’ll find that Scripture supports this trait.
Finishing Well in the Bible.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
– 2 Timothy 4:7
When Paul wrote these words to Timothy, he was likely in prison, awaiting his death. Even then, he was doing the LORD’s work, encouraging others in the faith. Paul didn’t surrender. He didn’t stop. He kept going amidst persecution.
Same with Jesus. Imagine if He hadn’t finished well. Jesus comes to Earth as the Messiah, heals the sick, raises the dead, revolutionizes the world as we know it…and bails in the Garden of Gethsemane. He ignores the cross and doesn’t die for our sins. That would be the greatest disappointment in history. The shame of it would outweigh everything else He did, no matter how good.
Something I’ve learned over my years in creative media is that starting something means next to nothing. Anyone can build a website, launch a podcast, kick off a YouTube channel, create a social media presence, etc. Doing these things doesn’t set you apart, because anyone can start well. What sets you apart is your choice to continue, keep at it, and finish well.
In Greek, the present tense is both the simple present and the present continuous. So Paul’s verse is really closer to, “I am fighting the good fight, I am finishing the race, I am keeping the faith.” Finishing well isn’t a one-time decision; it’s a continuous process. Will you keep choosing to finish well?
Finishing Well at Camp.
“A final word: Be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power.”
– Ephesians 6:10
I enjoy running. When I’m at camp, I mostly run to places. I run to swim skill, I run to the dining hall, I run to the Staff lodge, etc. But during the final week of camp, I chose to run down the camp driveway, along the highway, and back. As I finished running, I had one of those random shower thoughts. The quote at the start of this post is what came to mind.
“In running and in life, we should focus less on where we’re going,
and more on where we want to end up.”
It sounded gimmicky until I thought it through. On my run, I didn’t set out to go anywhere. It didn’t matter where I was running. What I cared about was hitting a certain distance, turning around, and getting back to camp. If I ran across a bridge, up a hill, or into the middle of nowhere, it didn’t matter. Either way, I’d turn around and wind up at my destination. The scenery and landscape were a bonus.
Then I realized that this is how God wants me to view my time at camp. I get caught in idolatry, distraction, and pride when I fixate on where I’m going and what I’m doing (the journey). I experience God’s presence when I fixate on His purpose for me this summer and autumn (the destination).
My goal at camp is to know Christ and to help others experience His love. Everything else is secondary. Everything that isn’t my priority must come second. To return to my running analogy, my goal was hitting a distance. The crunchy gravel road, leafy trees, and steel bridges were part of that goal, but secondary. If I’d stopped and gotten caught up in those things, I would have missed my goal.
The Means, the Medium, and the Mission.
Let me put it another way: You have a means, a medium, and a mission. When running, the mission is to hit my distance, the medium is the road I’m travelling along, and my body is my means. At camp, my mission is honouring Christ, the medium is our camp, and the means is through my role at skills, as a cabin leader, in Production, in the kitchen, and so on.
We err when we worship the medium over the mission. When I worship camp or worship the road I’m running along, I miss my purpose. Imagine a leaf worshipping the branch upon which it grows, completely overlooking the life-giving tree.
It’s taken me nine weeks to grasp this. Camp is not the mission; it’s the medium. Church is another medium. WLF is yet another medium. None of these things are Christ. None of them are worthy of our worship. Camp is a place. The church is people. WLF is just a website. These things are important, yes, and God can use them for His purposes, but they aren’t God.
So, paradoxically, we finish well not by finishing, but by acknowledging that nothing on this earth can be our end goal. Jesus is the end goal, wherever we are now. When camp ends, Jesus’ work doesn’t end.
Camp is nothing more than a medium. Why am I emphasizing this point? Our spiritual lives will evaporate the moment our faith drifts from the mission to the medium. The moment we say, “I’ve gotta have XYZ/do XYZ/be at XYZ to connect with Jesus,” it’s time for a focus check. Jesus gave us camp as a means to connect with Him. Camp is not meant to become the means to connect with Jesus. There’s a difference.
Genuine spiritual growth is only found in the mission of Jesus Christ. If He chooses to use camp as a medium, let Him use it.
To shift gears: Jesus accomplishes His mission through mediums like camp when He has a means (like our Camp Staff). The greatest medium is useless without a means. Jesus wants you. There’s no shortage of mediums in our world. Will you give Jesus your means and say yes to the medium He’s placed you in for this next season? I hope you’ll give Him your “Yes”.
Practical Application.
I’d love to finish this series with a final heart check. Feel free to grab your journal and take notes.
1. What is your mission?
We’re all seeking something. What are you pursuing above all else? Is it Jesus, is it money, is it a job, is it a relationship? What do you hope to get out of this mission?
2. What is your medium?
Where has God placed you? Are you involved in a workplace, school, church, sports team, etc.? What does He want you to do there this year?
3. What are your means?
What talents and abilities has God given you to use for the Kingdom? How is He asking you to utilize them this autumn?
Crazily enough, next week is the third anniversary of WLF! As a special one-off, I’m publishing a recap post about what God has done through my life and WLF in the past twelve months. I’m also bringing back The WLF Podcast, starting next week. After that, we’ll hop into a new series for Fall. Thank you so much for joining me this summer as I served God at camp!
Until next time, for His glory, always. As one of my fellow Staff put it…
“May we not leave this place unchanged.”
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