"Sacred Ground"

I spent the day yesterday at Lazy W Ranch, the United Methodist Camp in the Santa Ana District. The camp is located in Hot Springs Canyon off of Ortega Highway. It is a beautiful camp. But, more than that, it is sacred ground. It is sacred because of all of the things that have occurred there over the years. People began their Christian walk there, renewed their faith (i.e. "moi"), saw the face of God there, discovered and/or accepted a call to ministry there. It is a holy place.

Yesterday, I hiked up to the cross (not a bright idea at 3:00 p.m. in 95 degree heat, but I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed). It is a mile hike (doesn't sound so bad) with an 813 feet ascent (Egads!). It was brutal. But, something struck me as I battled heat and fatigue, etc. (no, I don't mean heat exhaustion). We were studying the book of James that day, "be doers of the word, not just hearers only..." I asked myself two questions as I continued to climb the hill. First, why do I want to do this? And second, am I equipped to do this? It occurred to me that if we are going to be "doers of the word," we must ask ourselves the same questions. Do I want to be a doer of the word? As method actors like to say, "what's my motivation?" Hopefully, the answer is that I have been made new by Jesus Christ. The second question, however, is more tricky. Am I equipped? To be equipped to be a doer of the word, we need to (a) be a part of the Christian community - a church. God is a God of relationships. We also need to (b) actually spend some time in that word, reading, studying, peppering our pastors with questions. That is our story, and we need to know it if we are going to live it.

There is much, much more, I imagine. But, quite frankly, I am exhausted.