Everybody's It

At Camp Phillip, we really do believe in learning by playing.  And there is a really important lesson that can be learned from this game:

Campers and staff are spread out inside the rectangle of cones.  Everyone waits for the wacky codeword to signal the beginning of the game.  As soon as the game begins, everyone is either tagging or tagged.  People who are tagged run to the outside to watch the action, as the crowd inside gets smaller and smaller.  

The game that started in chaos ends with a dramatic duel as the final two players each try to tag the other first.  Rounds go by so quickly, that no one has to sit out for long.  Soon, everyone is spreading out inside the cones again....

This is a familiar scene during a classic game that we play at Camp. It is called Everybody’s It Tag.

It's simple, quick and fun.  I have led the game enough times to notice some common strategies.

                

Some kids will cower in a corner, hoping no one comes near them.  These kids don't have anywhere to run when someone comes toward them, so they get tagged first.

Other kids have a more Kamikaze approach.  They run at other kids, hoping to catch them off guard.  They don't often defend themselves that carefully, so after getting out a few other kids, they usually find themselves watching the final showdown from the sidelines.

Some kids look more like the Karate Kid. They get into a defensive stance, and stand in the middle, twisting and dodging as quickly as possible.  Depending on their skills, these players sometimes do well.  Their quick movements cause most other players to try to stay away from them.

But, time and time again, the strategy that keeps players in the game longer is forming an alliance.  These campers are already talking with each other during the rules explanation.  They whisper and nod and gesture to each other, "I won't tag you if you don't tag me."  When the game begins, they stand together.

So what can we learn from this?   

You may already be making the connection that life is like that game.  

Sometimes we try to hide in the corner, hoping to stay out of everyone's way.

Sometimes we are like the kamikaze.  We aren't as careful as we should be, and we end up in dangerous situations, unable to get ourselves out.

And sometimes we stand alone like the Karate Kid.  We work as hard as we can, and do as much as we can.  We say we don't want to be a burden on anyone, but we also take pride in being able to handle things on our own.

But God has shown us a better way.

There was a woman from Jericho named Rahab who had taken in two Israelite spies.  She laid her life on the line by hiding them from the guards who came looking to kill them.

While Rahab is talking about her escape plan with the spies, these men give us a rallying cry very similar to the one that I hear campers whisper during outdoor sports:

 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.” 

-Joshua 2:14

She is willing to risk her life for these men.  And they promised by their blood that they would care for her.   She joins the ranks of the heroes of faith for this act.  And after she is rescued from the city, she marries an Israelite man and has a son named Boaz, who marries another famous foreigner, Ruth.  This puts her in the bloodline of the Savior.  

The reason that God chose to give her such an important role is demonstrated for us by the reason she helped the spies in the first place.  She says:

"We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.  When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." 

  -Joshua 2:10-11

This is truly an example of someone coming to faith because they FEAR the Lord.  She becomes part of the people of God, as God used his mighty wonders to bring her to faith.  He led her to fear, love and trust in him above all things. 

We have not always done this.  We often choose to walk a path that looks like MY life for ME. 

Thankfully Christ paid the price to save us from this sin.  What would have happened if he had chosen to live for himself?  We would have no life.  But his sacrifice allows his judgment to pass over us, just as it passed over Rahab and her family.  

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 

-2Corinthinas 5:15

Just like Rahab, after we have seen the wonder of God's power, love, and salvation, we are joined together with other Christians, saying "Our lives for Yours." 

I wish I could attach a perfect picture of kids in an alliance, protecting and defending and supporting each other. 

I don't have that picture.  But You and I can live that picture.

Tag. You're it.  Everybody's it.