I’m sure most of you are familiar with the story of Philemon and Onesimus in the New Testament book of Philemon. It seems from the text in the book of Philemon, that the apostle Paul led both of these men to Christ and that both men subsequently served with Paul in his ministry. However, Onesimus had been the slave of Philemon and only came to know Christ after he ran away and met Paul. Paul shared the gospel with Philemon and Philemon became a Christ Follower. Paul felt that he needed to send Onesimus back to Philemon because of the circumstances of his departure, but he appealed to Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother rather than a slave. In his appeal, Paul said, “ So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self.” Essentially Paul was saying, “I introduced you to Christ and and as a result you have been set free from sin. You were given spiritual freedom, now you can give back by giving Onesimus his freedom bondage as a slave.”
If you are reading this, you have probably spent some significant time at Red Rock Bible Camp. Perhaps you grew up going to Red Rock as a Camper. You may have followed that with being a Counselor-In-Training. You may have been a summer staff member, or even been on staff year round. Some of you may have a connection with Red Rock as a result of being there on a retreat, or an outdoor education experience.
I hope that your Red Rock experience included spiritual growth, character development, significant friendships and some great memories.
You have probably also been involved with a church for much, if not all of your life where you were nurtured in your walk with Christ.
So my question to you is, how are you giving back? Some of you have probably given back by serving in your church. Perhaps you have been an usher, Sunday School teacher, a youth sponsor or part of a worship team. Some of you have probably supported your church financially. That’s great. That is probably where you should be giving first.
Some of you who were campers at Red Rock gave back by returning as summer camp staff. Some of you have volunteered to work on buildings at camp. Some of you contribute financially to Red Rock.
The Red Rock Cyclathon will be Saturday, June 1. You could give back by participating as a cyclist, or as one of our Cyclathon crew. If you are interested in Cycling, you can check out the information on our Cyclathon page. Some of you may want to give back by supporting Red Rock financially. In any case, as you count your blessings and think of all that you have been given, don’t forget to give back.
