Christ Reigns Supreme

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through him and for him. And his is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.- Colossians 1:15-20

Bad things happen, and it sucks. People are diagnosed with cancer, get laid off from jobs, lose loved ones, etc. When people hear of these things, often their response is that the Lord works through these things. And often, if I'm being honest, I can see it from a distance. "Yeah," I tell myself, "when __________ got cancer so many people came to know of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness." Or, "Yeah, when _________ got laid off, they had to rely completely on the Lord to provide for them." But when it directly involves me, and people that I love, it is hard to see how the Lord is moving through these types of situations.

A dear friend of mine took his life into his own hands Monday night. Why? That is something I will never be able to answer or understand. We did ministry on the same team for a period of time. He had a love for the Lord that I didn't see in many other people, and with that came a love for other people. He smiled so radiantly that it was contagious. He was gifted by the Lord in many ways, and wasn't afraid to go anywhere that the Lord called him.

You always hear of people struggling to the point at which they think it is necessary to take their own life, but it is never real until someone you know does it. I knew that my friend struggled with depression, but if I am being totally honest, it has been 8 months since I had a real conversation with him so I had no clue how bad it had gotten.

He came to our Young Life club one week as part of his "fast-track" training, and we hit it off. We had both spent extended periods of time in Africa (myself in Uganda, and him in Kenya), and I knew then and there that there was something different about him. I told the people in charge of placing him that I wanted him on my team because I could tell he saw things differently than most people.

I'll never forget in the spring of 2014 we spent a weekend together on a friend's farm. He had never shot clays before, but man he was a natural. He missed the first one, then after that we coached him up a little bit and then he didn't miss another one. We also went fishing that day, and whoever caught the most fish got a free Zaxby's dinner on the person that caught the least amount of fish. He had to leave early, so he really didn't partake in the competition, but we spent that afternoon on the water together, just being quiet and enjoying each other's company.

We were getting lunch the day before he went back home before he went to Uganda then to South Africa for the fall. We were supposed to meet at Veggie's to go, but he saw Tenda Chick while we were there and decided he wanted that instead. He was such a spontaneous person. He shared with me that day his struggles with depression, and I honestly couldn't believe it. Just goes to show you never really know what is going on with someone.

After that day we never really hung out very much. We stayed in touch, texted every now and then. And of course if he was running down the street we would say hey to each other, talk for a little while, give each other a hug and move on. I would be riding my bike down the street and he would drive by with his hand out the window waving at me, making sure I saw him.

Was there anything I could've done to change his course of action? No, probably not. But that isn't what I'm struggling with now. I know that the Lord moves in ways that we don't understand, and I know that the Lord didn't will this on my friend.

The Lord is very mysterious to me. His Spirit moves in ways that I don't understand, but through everything that happens I know that He is teaching us something. So what are we supposed to learn from a situation that hurts so much and we don't understand? Over the past 24 hours I have learned a lot about myself and what I believe as I try to think through what the Lord is teaching me through this.

The number one thing that I can say with confidence is this: Satan may have won a battle, but the war has already been won by my friend Jesus. In this situation it may seem like Satan wins because he got in the head of a guy that was so full of life and followed Jesus with such passion, but I can assure you that Jesus has won the war. He says it himself:
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'"- Revelation 21:3-5a
Jesus wins, and creates this new way of life for us. There will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more sickness, no more hurt in this kingdom that Jesus has established.

The one thing that I have probably learned from all of this though, is that Christ is supreme over everything. Over every situation we could ever imagine, Jesus reigns supreme over that. That's what those verses out of Colossians are talking about. Jesus is God, and from Him come all things, and all of those things will be used for Him. And through him we have peace with God. I am learning through this that Christ will reign supreme over this situation. We may not see it now, but He will be glorified. And I am in that stage of not seeing it now, but He is showing me that He will get the glory from this, and even though I am not certain how, I am 100% sure that He will.

Identity

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.- Galatians 4:7

I don't feel like our identity is something that too many of us think about a lot. If someone were to ask me about my identity or simply ask me the question "Who are you?" I could come up with a lot of different answers. My name is Camp, I'm an Auburn student, a Young Life Leader, a gardener, and the list could go on and on. The thing is that none of those things tell you anything about my identity. They tell you my name, and what I do. None of them tell you who I am.

This word identity is something I have been learning a lot about over the past week or so, and it is something that the Lord has definitely spoken to me about. It really started when I saw a picture that showed arrows going like this: Father>Obedience>Identity. This is the way that the majority of people live I feel like. We think that if we are good enough that we can get to the Father, and when He decides that we have been good enough that He will bestow His identity on us. With this all of the pressure is on us to be good, to do it on our own. This is so oppresive to all of us because we will never be good enough. The way the arrows go in reality is like this: Father>Identity>Obedience. The Father, through Jesus, has given us an identity as sons and daughters- "You are my son, and with you I am well pleased."- and through that our natural tendency is to live a life of obedience to Him. With this model our identity comes not from what we can do, but from what Jesus has done for us.

This past week I was thinking about this a lot, and as I dove deeper and deeper into this truth I really felt the Lord saying to me, "Camp, you can't do it. But I can." That is a relief to a guy like me. I'm a doer. The type of person that, if I see a problem, I try to find a way to fix it. After I realized all of this I felt the Lord inviting me to stop doing so much and just come be with Him and rest in His presence. So on Saturday I spent a lot of time alone just reading and listening.

I was reading the gospel of John, one of my favorites, and I got to chapter 5. In the second half of the chapter Jesus is just ripping the Pharisees a new one because they were trying to kill him because he called himself the Son of God, which made him equal with God. So Jesus went on a rant about how the Father has given him authority and that his witness is true, and then he really started getting on the Pharisees about how they search the Scriptures because they think that in them they get eternal life, when Jesus is really the one that gives life. Then I came to verse 44, and it hit me like a freight train.

"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?"- John 5:44

Not gonna lie, that one stung a little bit. He is telling me that I am finding my identity in the approval of other people and not in Him. That was really hard for me to hear, but He was speaking a word of grace into me and it was so relieving. I will never be fulfilled seeking the approval of other people. I need to live into the identity that He has for me.

"And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'"- Mark 1:9

That is my identity, and every day I will choose to live in that truth. I am His son, and He is well pleased with me.