This introduction of our 2018 summer theme was written by Kardia.
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“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b)
A people far from home. An orphan girl pulled from obscurity and thrust into prominence and power. An assassination attempt against the king. Palace intrigue. Plots within plots. The orphan girl facing off against insurmountable odds to save her people.
Recognize this story? It’s not the latest Hollywood blockbuster or best-selling novel. Instead, it’s a retelling of events from the book of Esther. Esther takes place in the land of Persia, where the Jewish people have been living in exile. Esther is a young Jewish girl, raised by her cousin, Mordecai, after the death of her parents. Through a series of improbable events, she eventually becomes the queen of Persia.
The major crisis of the book of Esther occurs when Haman, a high-ranking official in the favor of the Persian king, manages to get an edict passed approving the annihilation of the Jewish people. Mordecai begs Esther’s help in interceding before the king on their behalf. There’s only one problem: according to Persian law, anyone who approaches the king without his explicit invitation risks death—and Esther hasn’t been invited before the king in over a month.
Esther has a choice to make. And it’s the choice to stand by silently or to take a stand. But this is what Mordecai says to her as she waivers over what decision to make: “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Mordecai absolutely trusts in the faithfulness of God, and he’s reminding Esther that their deliverance doesn’t depend on her. But her obedience to God’s call does. What might seem like the safe option isn’t as safe as just trusting in the providence of God.
And so Esther makes her decision: “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Esther goes before the king. She pleads her case. She opens his eyes to Haman’s plotting, and the tables are turned—Haman is the one sentenced to destruction. She saves her people.
The book of Esther never mentions God by name. And yet, the silence of God doesn’t mean the absence of God. Because Esther is overwhelmingly a story of God’s provision and faithfulness towards his people. God used Esther in ways she probably never imagined were possible. God works through people. He wants to work through you!
Our theme this year at Camp Luther is CALLED. We’re going to be talking about what it means that we are called by God. Now, right now some of you are going, “Not me! God’s hasn’t called me anywhere. How could he possibly use me?” But time and time again through the Bible, we find that God uses the unlikely, and the useless, and the weak to display his glory. From Moses to Rahab to David to Esther to Peter to Paul…God doesn’t call the equipped; he equips those he calls.
So where is God calling you? Where is Jesus asking you to follow Him? Join us this year as we dive deep into the book of Esther and learn more about God’s faithfulness, and the way He works in us and through us to share His glory and grace.