Author: Nickie Waehner
This past summer, I went to my first ever summer camp! I had the amazing opportunity of leading a group of sophomore girls. While I know that God used me to speak truth into their lives this past summer, I felt that God spoke to me through them as well. For those unfamiliar with CIY high school camp, Central takes hundreds of kids to California and partners with the organization Christ in Youth to put on a truly incredible summer camp experience. There are world class speakers twice a day, well-crafted small group material, fun games, incredible worship, and community. I’m really blown away by how great this camp is! I wish I had gone to one as a kid!
One of my students has been desperately wanting to go on a missions trip. She has this urge to go and help people and show them the love of Jesus. So I went with her to a meeting where CIY explained all of the missions trip opportunities they offer. She was on the edge of her seat nearly the whole time with eagerness and excitement! Until the end. She learned that the international trips are only offered to students 16 years of age or older. She turned to me with tears welling in her eyes because she was too young to go on a trip this upcoming year. And in the moment I thought, “Do I have this kind of passion like she does?” Would I be brought to tears if I were told I couldn’t share Jesus with someone who needs Him the most? Am I really overcome with the love of Jesus in a way that brings me to tears when I think about someone not knowing Him? While I would like to say “yes” to these questions, I don’t think I can. I, like many, get so caught up in the day-to-day of this life and don’t even think about others who don’t know Jesus as often as I think I should.
In Acts 10, Peter has an incredible encounter with God through a vision and through a man named Cornelius. Peter has this vision of all these animals that traditionally Jewish people can’t eat because they weren’t considered “clean.” Peter hears God’s voice in this vision tell him to “kill and eat.” Peter basically tells God, “No way!” because Peter knows these animals, according to how he was raised, are impure. But God is doing something so much bigger than Peter knows in the moment. Soon after Peter’s vision, a man sent by Cornelius, a Roman official, arrives to where Peter is at. The Romans at this time are NOT fond of Jewish people, let alone those who follow Jesus, and vice versa. Yet, Peter goes with him and realizes after talking with Cornelius that the unclean animals God showed him in the vision were a metaphor for people who Peter thought weren’t capable of receiving Jesus. God tells Peter not to call anything “impure that [He] has made clean,” and from then on, the Good News spread to all the nations around the known world. This moment is why we in America have access to Jesus, even now!
Are there people in your life you feel don’t deserve Jesus? Are there people you hate? Are there people groups you think shouldn’t have access to the Good News of Jesus? Peter thought so! Yet, through Cornelius, a non-Jewish person, Peter realized that God doesn’t have a heart of exclusion. There isn’t anyone out of His reach or undeserving of His love.
I pray that I can be more passionate like the young girl in my group from summer camp. I pray that we can all be reduced to tears with the thought of others not knowing Jesus. And I pray that we can be a light for His Kingdom – inclusive, not exclusive, because we are all made in His image.