may the lost be found

fish camp. four days of yelling, learning traditions, dancing, more yelling, sweating, making friendships, watching skits and figuring out who you want to be in college. i went into this expecting something incredible, but i realized soon that it paled in comparison to mfuge. it was great in it's own way, yet for me it was lacking a vital component: the component of Christ.

all my life id sat by and watched while the world shaped me, but fuge made me realize every day is a mission, every action is a witness. fish camp opened my eyes to just how much the world needs Christ's love. relationships without the foundation of a common Savior leave a superficial and meaningless bond over the world. it's lacking of substance, of depth. it's a cause for reaching out and showing God's love. in our discussion groups, we have kids talking of broken families, lost friendships, and bitter feelings with such anger and resentment and guilt. people at camp were openly using language every time i turned around. vulgarity and profanity was considered acceptable if not encouraged by other campers. partying, drinking, sleeping around was the norm.

the thing that broke my heart the most, however, was the open atheism. my heart broke for those that had no hope in my God. they had no idea of the joy and love that He daily gives. they didn't know that the holes in their lives could be filled by His forgiveness, or maybe they did know and just blindly turned their heads. i know atheists, and have had personal experiences with one that made me see that the Christian bubble i live in is naive. but to have kids profess a disbelief in the Lord that so changed my life was heart rending. the fact that i am a living witness of Christ was reinforced by the knowledge that i was surrounded by non-believers.

we refer to non-believers as "the lost" and i truly saw why. not to say that i have it all together-that is so far from the truth. but they are missing out on the biggest gift ever given, they are saying no to a Savior who died the most gruesome death possible for them. they are refusing to be loved, rejecting forgiveness, and seeking the world. my prayers go out to them.

Heavenly Daddy,

be the solution to this world. You are bigger than our problems, our pride, our sins, and our love of the world. You alone can satisfy, wash clean, and heal. I pray that You will work in the lives of the bitter, lonely, and lost. let my every action be a witness for You. i'm so sorry when i fall short of that, because i know i do daily. i want to live for Your name alone. i give over my days to You, my desires, my plans, my actions, my life. use me for Your will. i pray that the lost are found and the blind i will see only You. let the hope we have in You rise and darkness flee from the sound of Your voice calling out to Your children. open our eyes to You. 'break down our pride and the walls we built up inside, our earthly crowns and all our desires to lay down at Your feet.' i pray that every single voice will call to You in surrender. You would leave behind 99 sheep to seek the one lost, wandering soul-this is my prayer, Lord. thank you for working daily in my life. my heart goes out to those who don't have the light of the world in their lives.

Amen.