LightGrams
December 21, 2017
Volume 21, Number 43
It’s a punch-line I’ve heard numerous times. When the conversation turns to outdoor camping, someone is bound to say, “I do all of my camping at Holiday Inn.” The point is easy to discern: they don’t like the thought of sleeping on the ground, fighting insects and snakes, or trying to fry bacon in an iron skillet.
If you’re among that number, you should know about “glamping”. It’s a term I first heard only a few days ago, combining the unlikely duo of “glamour” and “camping”. It seems to be a thriving corner of the travel market.
A glance at one site dedicated to this pursuit, glamping.com, reveals a number of possible destinations. In Australia, Silky Oaks Lodge offers accommodations in treehouses, huts, or cottages, beginning at $398 per night. Not far from where I live, Sugar Creek Treehouse in western North Carolina can be rented for as little as $145 per night (2 night minimum). With several of these rentals there are also amenities (air conditioning, TV) so you don’t really have to “rough it” when you camp.
It’s all a far cry from the tentless camping I used to do when growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Still, as my back grows older and more sensitive to lumpy bedding, a little pampering doesn’t sound all that bad.
Christians are sometimes compared to long-term campers; “sojourners” is one word that connotes that idea. Peter used the term in urging us to live holy lives: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). The point should be clear: This world is not our home.
Does this mean we are to live as Abraham did? “By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9,10). (Truth be told, the tent in which Abraham and Sarah lived should not be compared to our camping tents! But still …)
A basic principle of camping is that one willingly denies himself some of life’s pleasures in order to “enjoy” the experience. That sounds similar to Jesus’ demand of His disciples: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
Here’s some good news that will help all Christians be much happier campers: “… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Yes, we may have to deny ourselves some of the pleasures of this world, but the abundant blessings Christ gives makes it all so worthwhile!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2017, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “Tim@GraceMine.org” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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