Monk's Musings: The Kingdom of God is Near

“The time has come”, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

“Come, follow me”, Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:15,17

After a warm start, winter has well and truly arrived at Beacon! Wherever we live and whatever season we are experiencing, it’s great to enjoy God’s wonderful creation and worship Him as the Almighty Creator. But God is not just a Mighty God, He also became a Merciful Redeemer when Jesus came to give his life on the cross for us. It is good to remember that the main reason Beacon exists is to continue the work Jesus began when he came to announce the Kingdom of God. It is still true today that “repentance and faith” in the “good news of Jesus Christ” is what makes us into children of God; and “fishing others” to come to Jesus is still the hallmark of every one of His disciples.

So we encourage everyone to take to heart the words of Jesus and accept His Kingship in your life. Let Him truly be the Lord of your life and the one who directs your life decisions. “Turning eyes to creation, and calling hearts to God” is our camp’s motto. So yes, let us admire and enjoy God’s handiwork in the forests, lakes and stars; but even more, let us each listen to His voice calling our hearts to love and follow Him. And as we reflect on His calling, we want to especially encourage adults and young adults to invest their lives in serving God and loving people into the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps God is calling you to come up to camp to volunteer, and in this way to help carry out Jesus’ invitation to his disciples to be “fishers of men”. Or perhaps He has another calling for you. One thing is certain, we are all called: let us be active in serving Him!

Whatever we do, may we all follow God’s calling and leading this year.

With all our best wishes for us all,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn