Where is my focus?

At the end of september we once again had the privilege of working with some of the young people from Belgium and the Netherlands. The congregation in Maastricht planned a youth weekend, but this time we held it down at camp. Since Ardennen Bible Camp was celebrating the renovations, we thought it would be a good chance to finish off the weekend with the young people.

It was exciting that we were able to work together as a congregation. And it was a good example of what we were wanting to talk about with the young people: what is our focus? With just a few activities focusing on three verses, we tried to encourage one another to look to Jesus. 

The reason I like these weekends is because I am always challenged by what we learn together. How can we tell young people to keep focused on Jesus and not do it ourselves? So when we held a race, saying: ‘let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus’, we are faced with the same exhortation. When we send them on a search in the dark for treasure and then talk about how your heart is where your treasure is, we, too must think about where we have focused our heart. And when we encourage them to ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom. 12:2), then we are confronted with our own need to be transformed.

What a blessing to be able to do things like this with young people who are willing to listen, willing to be formed, willing to share in this transformation!

If you haven’t already, you can see some of the pictures from the weekend here.