Free time
at camp has so many great activities to choose from. There is horseback riding, swimming,
nerf wars, friendship bracelets, sign language, ventriloquism and many other
activities to choose from. The
full list has 30+ items that are available. The campers from each cabin discuss
and select five things to do together as a group. They check off the boxes of their top
choices for the following day.
Among
this long list of options is an RAK. Helping one of the camp directors
set up the recreation schedules for the various cabins, I asked for the meaning
of this acronym. RAK stands for ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ that can be
performed anywhere in the camp. With all the fun options to choose from,
these campers can choose to set apart a time to bless others. Isn’t that great?
Generally,
a random act happens at the spur of the moment when an opportunity
arises. By nature, setting something up, makes the event less random and
more planned. But there is nothing wrong with being proactive in looking
for the random opportunities to do nice things that are present every day.
Scripture
tells us, “How God anointed
and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and
ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all
who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with
Him.” (Acts 10:38 AMP) This
probably did not happen simply because He stumbled across lots of people who
obviously needed a good deed. People followed Jesus because He had a
reputation for helping the hurting. This came about because Jesus
prepared for His day by spending time with His Father in prayer. There
are several places in Scripture where we see that Jesus went off to pray.
This was His response when He was challenged about how and why He did these
great deeds. “So Jesus
answered them by saying, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the Son is
able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord); but He is able to do only
what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son
does in the same way [in His turn].” (John
5:19 AMP)
The term
Christian means “little Christ” or “Christ follower”. We, who call
ourselves Christian, should follow this example of Jesus. We should
prepare for our day by asking our Father God for opportunities to show His love
and kindness to others. It’s amazing what He will show us if we simply
ask Him. “…You do not have, because you do not ask.
[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with
wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives...” (James 4:2-3 AMP) We can
ask God for opportunities to see needs and bless others every day. Once
you start, you’ll wonder how you ever missed all the opportunities that are
there.
The
apostle Paul instructed believers “and
set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things) not on
the things of this earth” (Colossians
3:2 AMP).
Just as
these campers set a time to do random acts of kindness, we can set our minds to
do the same. Our daily prayer can be “Lord, show me someone to bless
today.” It can be as simple as a kind word or a 25cent shopping
cart. It may be something far more involved and costly. Whatever
God sends our way, He will provide the resources for us to respond with His
love. We must simply give over a small piece of our personal time and
comfort to be His channel of blessing.
Several
of these RAKs came my way. As the camp cook, I received help both in
preparing the meals and in cleaning up. This, in turn, enabled me to get
involved. With all this extra help I was able to do more cleaning than I
could have possibly done on my own. Together we were able to leave the
camp kitchen cleaner than we found it. As the children blessed me, we
were able to bless the camp staff that would return to the kitchen.
Once this
becomes a part of our lives, we will not trade the blessings God sends our
way. I heard several campers tell their friends that they had helped with
a part of the meals. One could almost see the glow on their faces as they
realized that their actions helped make the meal better for their
friends. I am confident that many of them will cherish the memory of
their RAK far longer that all the fun and games they also participated
in. God wants us to have a good time too. He created a beautiful
earth full of goodness for us. But just as these children chose one of
their fifteen activity slots to give to others, we can give as well.
So today,
as you approach a world full of hurting, needy people, set your heart to ask
the Lord to open your eyes to the needs in your path. Enjoy all the good
that the Father has provided for you, but set your heart to do your own random
acts of kindness. You will be happy that you checked the RAK box as part
of your day’s plan.
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