This summer, our campers dove into the book of Luke for Bible study. In the Gospel of Luke, we see that Jesus was not the King or Messiah that the Jewish people expected. Luke shows us the radical social and economic upheaval that Jesus caused in his mission to announce the Good News of God’s Kingdom to the poor, or, what we called the Upside Down Kingdom.
The Gospel of Luke forces us to confront our personal, communal, and political sensibilities. Luke wants us to know that Jesus was the embodiment of God’s mercy and covenant love that opened a new way forward for all humanity, rich and poor together. Jesus never intended that the story end with Him. In the Lord’s Prayer, we see the prayer for God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done. This isn’t a passive thing, where we sit back and wait for God to bring the Kingdom.
Jesus invited us into the story and into the work. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he commanded his followers to continue the Kingdom work, to continue to establish this Upside Down Kingdom in their communities, their cities, and ultimately, in the whole world. We see in the book of Acts, Luke’s sequel, what happens when we live into this Upside Down vision. Acts is a case study, showing what happens when Jesus’ followers actually live like the Upside Down Kingdom is right-side up. And it also invites each of us to consider our own contexts and imagine what in our lives and communities needs to be turned upside down so that it can become right-side up in the power of Jesus’ life and love.
What did this look like for our campers this summer? We learned about how Jesus welcomes the outsider, and we talked about people who might be on the edges or fringes of our world. How can we welcome and love them? We learned about how Jesus led by serving. Rather than lording his power over others, he set an example by kneeling down and washing the feet of the disciples. To practice this same kind of humility, we actually washed each others’ feet! It was awkward and uncomfortable, but it reminded us that living in the Upside Down Kingdom isn’t always easy.
We learned about the radical forgiveness of Jesus, and how he poured out his love for all of us by choosing the way of the cross on our behalf. We talked about what it would look like if we were to forgive and offer mercy just like Jesus did. And finally, we talked about how the Upside Down Kingdom brings hope for the hopeless. When we are struggling or sad or feel lost, we know that Jesus is right beside us. We know that one day, the evil and pain of this world will be no more, and we will get to live eternally with Jesus who loves us and gave his life so we could live.
Summer camp might be over, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue living out the Upside Down Kingdom for our families, communities, schools, and friends. Jesus reminds us that power and fame and fortune aren’t the real treasure. Instead, he teaches us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the humble.” Let’s go love the world like Jesus!
Technology at Camp