The Way To Truly Live

A Letter to Our Youths and Campers at G@N Camp

By Chan Hsin Yee

It’s been about six months since “This is Living” camp held in December 2019. How have you been? In those five days (they seem so short now!), we saw light and sparks of fire illuminating hearts and minds. How are those fires being fanned?

We got very personal at this camp. Armed with the book of Ephesians, we got right in your face to ask, “What’s the big deal about being a Christian? What’s the big deal about Jesus?”

And we tried our best to show that the answer is everything: Jesus must either come to mean nothing at all, or everything to you. That if one does not choose to come under the authority of Jesus, one is choosing to submit to Sin, the World, and the Devil. And these other masters, they do not show themselves in so crude a form as a red elf with horns and a pitchfork. They conceal themselves in photos, hashtags, self-care, the workhard, “Let it Go” mentalities, fears, practicalities, and ideals. They wrap themselves in feel-good speak that conjures an illusion of a world with no God. And any meaning, any value that can be found here is up to you to make. It is a fog that conceals a spiritual reality as real as this page at your fingertips, and God worked deep in us to make this reality known to us.

I praise and thank God, because He moved in powerful ways those five days. I think the rest of the camp committee would agree with me. We saw the fog clearing, and sweet, sharp light shining every time we came together to share, to sing, to eat. So many introspective, “light bulb” moments! People were sharing whether they genuinely believed they were Christian. Some concluded that they no longer wanted to live in the dark. Others realised they had never really considered God to be relevant in their life up to this point. We saw the Christian-ese so many of you have grown up hearing – “sacrifice”, “sin”, “glory” – how they moved beyond words floating in our head to words that carried weight in our heart.

You know the most precious, most beautiful moment I will remember of this camp? The last night of worship, when we saw siblings, friends, classmates, young adults and youths, coming together in prayer, worshipping with hands raised, knees bowed.

My dear friends, now that the emotional high of camp has passed, I pray that you keep pressing on. Keep asking questions. Keep trying. Keep encouraging one another. Please know that the Lord is crazy about you, gave His life for you, and wants you to have the best – the best can only be found in Him. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to do His good work in each of you, even in the most mundane of days.

May you know – really know – the goodness of our Lord. Every day. You don’t have to live in the fog anymore.

Biggest hugs, Hsin Yee