Camping with God

O LORD, who may abide in Thy tent? (Psalm 15:1, NAS)

Camping is a very rich experience for some people.  It is a time for relaxation and reflection, a time to stop and enjoy God's creation.  I am not much of a camper myself.  Until my son entered RA's here at church (a missions group for elementary school age boys), I did not own a tent.  But a friend gave us a tent that the children played with but we never used for camping.

But my son wanted to go on the RA camping trip. so, being a loving and devoted father, I agreed to go with him.  But there were a couple of universal rules about camping I did not know then but now I do:
 

1. You should always test your tent to see if it is waterproof before you go camping.
2. It always rains on RA camping trips.

We went on our first camping trip with the RA's.  Leaving behind the television and video games, we ventured into the woods for a time of relaxation and reflection.  Now while we were relaxing in the woods, my son scratched himself and it bled a little bit.  I gave him a handkerchief to wipe off the blood and he tossed it in the tent.

About midnight, of course, it started pouring down rain (rule #2).  The brave little tent lasted about 2 minutes before it was raining just as hard inside the tent as it was outside (rule #1).  We grabbed up our stuff and headed for the car about 100 yards away.  There we slept until the next morning.

The RA leader told us that the next morning about a dozen boys in a panic ran up to him and said, "Mr. Greg, Mr. Greg! Bryan and his dad are missing.  Their tent is empty and all that's left is a bloody handkerchief!"  They must have thought a big ol' grizzly bear stopped by and had a midnight snack!

So I do not know much about camping.  But if we relate this to the question of the Psalmist, one would conclude that you need to know how to camp to go camping with God.  Who can dwell in His tent?   Who can go camping with God?  God wants to go camping with people who know how to camp:
 

• He who walks with integrity  (15:2):  Conduct your life with honesty.
• He who … works righteousness (15:2):  Do the good works that God has called you to do (Eph. 2:10), equipped you to do (Eph. 4:11-12), and given you the power and opportunity to do (Prov. 3:27).
• He who … speaks truth in his heart (15:2):  Say what you mean and mean what you say!
• He does not slander with his tongue (15:3):  Check your tongue; say what is good for building up others (Rom. 15:2) not for gossip (2 Cor. 12:20).
• He … does no evil to his neighbor (15:3): Never hurt those who live near you in a place of trust.
• He does not … take up a reproach against his friend (15:3): Avoid bearing a grudge; you take the first step to forgive, seek forgiveness, and set things right between you.
• He … In whose eyes a reprobate is despised (15:4): You owe no honor to those who totally reject the grace of God in Christ.
• He honors those who fear the LORD (15:4): You are to esteem greatly those who trust in the LORD Jesus Christ.
• He who swears to his own hurt and does not change (15:4): Keep your promises even if it is costly to you.
• He who does not put out his money at usury (15:5): Israelites were prohibited from charging interest to fellow Israelites.  Today, this means that you should be generous with your money, help others when you can without expecting something in return.
• He who does not … take a bribe against the innocent (15:5):  Determine you will not be underhanded in your dealings with people.

That's how you go camping with God.  More specifically, that is the kind of person that God wants to go camping with.  And if you put these things into practice, you won't ever have to bail out of God's tent:  "He who does these things will never be shaken" (5).