RE:Main
Wow, what a great team effort from all the leaders, coordinators, mentors and the Admin team during ECKCM 2013! My spiritual life was renewed during ECKCM, as I collaborated with many young people who are on fire for Jesus and we used our talents in God's vineyard. After weeks of prayer and preparation, I witnessed the harvesting of the fruits of the leadership’s labor. Every day of camp, I felt and vividly saw God's peace and blessing on me. With every challenge that arose, I lifted up a humble short prayer and God always, faithfully remained with me. As the secretary of the Admin team, my biggest challenge was handling the leadership’s logistics (collecting payments, organizing meal tickets, collecting receipts for reimbursements, etc.) while simultaneously taking care of my energetic 15 month old son. Please don't misinterpret me, I loved my job as secretary; I found the challenges exciting and contributing my administrative skills to the Admin team gave me a spiritual self-gratifying feeling.
After ECKCM '13, I now have a deeper and personal understanding of John 15:
1. Source (John 15:1) Jesus is the true Vine. If I stay connected to Him, I will naturally bear fruit. As the true vine, God is the source of my life, strength, and fruits. There is a simple relationship of complete dependence between the branch (me) and the vine (God). The vine supplies life-giving nourishment to the branches. Apart from it, the branches have neither life nor fruit.
2. Care (v. 1) Our Heavenly Father is the Vinedresser. He owns me and cares for me. Remember: "Cast all your cares upon him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7.
3. Pruning (v. 2) God removes anything and anyone that hinders my usefulness. He trims my weaknesses.
4. Partnership (v. 4) My job isn't to artificially push fruit out, but to stay connected to the Vine. There is no fancy formula or technique by which fruitfulness can be attained. It results from merely remaining. Remaining in its simplest terms is trusting and obeying.
5. Promise (v. 7) If I let His word remain in me, He promises He will do what I ask. Remaining in the Vine, results in conformity to the word of God. If I keep God's word, I can be confident of receiving the answers to my prayers because I will pray according to His will.
6. Purpose (v. 8) God created me to glorify Him by bearing much fruit.
7. Obedience (v. 10) Jesus gives only one condition to my relationship with Him, I must obey. This is the "how" I remain in Christ's love.
Now that I understand and applied these passages correctly, it has virtually inverted my priorities upside-down. Before, I was preoccupied with my performances as a Christian, but now I am occupied with the person of Christ. Before, I was more interested in the results I achieved than in simply resting in Him, RE:maining in Him. Before, I wanted to appropriate His power, but had failed to appreciate His person. I had the cart before the horse.
Abiding is my obligation; fruitfulness is God's concern. The True Vine is the Author, the Source and the Finisher of my faith. I should be keeping His fellowship and leaving the fruit to Him. I remain in Him, receive from Him and reproduce for Him.
Dear God,
Thank you for being my true Vine and the source of my life. Thank you for your constant care, for pruning and trimming my weaknesses. Thank you for your partnership to stay connected to you. Thank you for your faithful promises and for giving me a purpose in life. Help me to follow Jesus’ example, to keep your commandments and abide in your love. Enable me to remain in you and from this day forward, recreate my heart. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Elena is happily married to Pr. Tony Sandoval, they currently minister and reside south of Atlanta. As part of the ECKCM Admin team, she is an eager secretary.