God’s Love is Everlasting
by Patrick Nazaroff, Summer Program Director

When I was eight years old my family took a trip to Disneyworld. After spending 14 hours one day at the park, my mom was attempting to corral me so we could exit the park as it was closing, but I was simply not ready to leave. In spite of my sore feet and sagging eyelids, I felt that I needed more time, more adventure, more rides, and more cotton candy. It was criminal that Disney was closing without letting me ride Space Mountain one more time, so naturally, I cried at the injustice of it all. The same injustice I felt at Disney
closing, we feel all the time. We want to get more mileage out of our cars, more time with our loved ones, and “mom, just five more minutes” is a plea heard round the world.

The last few minutes at Disney, the video game we longed for, the cell phone that was going to change our lives, the latest bit of technology, they all eventually end up gathering dust in our closets or the trash. Sometimes we outgrow or outlast all that gave us joy. We discard what once made us happy and move on to the latest and greatest device that is destined to fade.

So when we encounter a God who promises us something that doesn’t fade or expire, our ears should perk up. In Jeremiah 31: 3, God tells us “I have loved you with an everlasting love…” This is a love that isn’t based on how good we are or how nice we are to our neighbors, but a love that existed before we were even born. This is a love that drove Jesus to the cross, and by believing in Him we get life everlasting. As we look at our summer theme “Everlasting,” we get a chance to not only see the eternal love of our God,
but also get to see how we are going to live forever in a place where love never expires, the dance never ends, and the joy and excitement felt at camp is a mere glimpse of what God has prepared for us. It leaves our staff excited to spend a week teaching, playing, leading, and singing with our campers, and an even greater excitement knowing that what happens at Camp Lone Star is part of something that will last forever.