By Larry B. Reinhold

After 21 years of being involved in the ministry of Christian camping, I can recount many blessings. We have met so many people from near and far and we have been able to share our home with them. God has truly blessed.

I must say that I also have a deep concern that has intensified through time and experience. That being the lack of a disciplined lifestyle and the willingness not only to accept it, but also going to the point of glorifying it.

When Paul exhorted Timothy in II Timothy 2 to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; he surrounded it with the urging and directives to live a life that would be in step with the One who saved us. He told Timothy to be a good soldier of Christ. No soldier entangles himself with the civilian affairs of the present world. He must rather bring himself under total subjection of his commanding officer. He tells Timothy to be as an athlete and compete within the boundaries that are established with all the gumption that can be mustered and all the energy that is supplied in Christ. He told him to be as the hardworking farmer - “If you are attempting to produce, you should be the first to partake.” (In other words, I shouldn’t complain about the price of calves if I am a vegetarian cowboy).

I have a concern for our young people in that they have been challenged to fall under the discipline of other institutions and we as families have been willing to sacrifice a growing relationship with Christ. That is wrong. We are Christ’s creation, His building, His workmanship, and we are called to be His ambassadors.

During one session of camp with our teens, I gave a fairly simple Bible Knowledge test. The scores were very low. I want you to know that our kids are bright kids. But I believe it reflects the thoughts and trends of previous generations. I want you to also realize that most of these kids are under great pressure to achieve high grades in school and to chase the scholarships. But the knowledge of basic Sunday School teaching isn’t important. Whose discipline are we under?

As saints we are called to be a peculiar people. Not strange, but rather set apart. Yet in so many of our activities, we take our cues from the world system. Perhaps some of the problem arises in our misunderstanding and misuse of grace.

We know Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by grace you have been saved; through faith—and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Praise God for this truth, but we should read verse 10 as well where it states, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We should all remember the line that Chris Morris uses all the time. “I don’t do good works to get to heaven, but I rather do them because I am going to heaven.”

It is plain that a disciplined life in Christ is clearly in order and a careless walk goes completely in the face of grace.

This disciplined life is not meant for the other guy, but rather for each one of us. I liked what they did out at the Fairpoint Church, the “Little White Church on a Hill” in Meade County. I noticed they had the Ten Commandments hanging on the wall. They looked as if they were really carved in stone. I commented on them and Gary responded by saying, “Well, we have been encouraging the schools to post them on their walls and so we thought we had better put them on our walls first.” That is quite a sermon.

If we would like to see our world around us change, perhaps we should see what is mounted on the walls of our heart and mind and seek a disciplined lifestyle where we will grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.