What has the Lord taught me? – Mitch Mayfield

I imagine most people ask one of these two questions when it concerns the fellowship. “What is the fellowship like?” or “What do you do in the fellowship?”.  Well, I can tell you that I have done a multitude of jobs throughout these last couple of months. Building IKEA furniture, lifeguarding, sending guests down the ziplines, teaching 5^th graders outdoor education, holding snakes and chinchillas, serving meals, helping the summer camp team recruit for the summer, loading and unloading luggage, and much more. And I also get to be in a community with thirteen other people who have become my best friends, learn about the Bible by taking an Old and New Testament Survey class, and have a multitude of adventures with the people I work with. And the one thing that I have learned consistently throughout it all is God, through His grace, has faithfully given me the strength to do my job with excellence and to love and serve the people that He has placed around me.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are shown going through different trials and how they interact with God. There is a cycle that is also not hard to miss. The Israelites try to do things their own way, God punishes and humbles them, the Israelites repent, God forgives and upholds His covenant that He has with them. And then the cycle repeats. Exodus 14, when God rescued His people from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, is a great example of this cycle. The Israelites get to the Red Sea and become fearful because of the situation God has placed them in. When this time of trial comes, they begin to think that it would be better for them to go back to Egypt and be slaves, instead of trusting in the Lord. But God has a different plan. He tells Moses to lift his staff over the Red Sea. Moses does, and then God splits the sea so that the people of Israel can walk across on dry land. After the Israelites make their way to the other side, God closes the sea and brings an end to the Egyptian army. The Israelites then rejoice and worship the Lord because it was He who saved them by His grace. God uses the obedience of Moses to bring about the rescue of His people. A familiar story that all of us have heard and one that all of us fail to see the good news of Jesus in. Jesus Christ, in His perfect obedience to God, is used by the Father to redeem and forgive the sins of all who believe in His death and resurrection.

If you are thinking, “Mitch, what does this have to do with the Fellowship and why are you telling us this?”, I will tell you. I am only able to do my job with excellence and serve and love the people around me because Christ came to live the perfect life I couldn’t, die the death that I deserve, and be raised to life by God three days later. Jesus Christ has defeated death and sin and “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). And even when I fail at this, God’s grace is sufficient to forgive. You also might be thinking, “Mitch, you do a lot of different tasks that don’t seem spectacular”, and I will tell you “Yes I do a lot of different tasks, and yes they are all not spectacular.” But I love doing each one of them because my obedience to doing them, being an employee of Sky Ranch, and being a member of the Fellowship is not for the rewards that come from being obedient or for the betterment of myself, but I am obedient because I have been purchased by the blood of Jesus and am loved by a perfect and powerful Father.

– Mitch Mayfield