KNOWN our 2015 Theme

K N O W N.

He knows me.

Our theme comes from John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Like most themes, our theme is one in which we can talk about too much, but never enough.

At Camp Luther we often sing the song 'I Just Wanna Be A Sheep'. Like our theme, it can be sung too much, but never enough. As the song goes, “I just wanna be a sheep, ba-ba-ba-ba / I just wanna be a sheep, ba-ba-ba-ba . . .”, but when we sing this do we really mean we want to be a sheep?

I don't think so. 

Let's be honest, if we were going to choose to be an animal we wouldn't choose a sheep. We'd want to be a lion or an otter or a house cat or a T-Rex, but not a sheep. 
Definitely not a sheep.
What we are really exclaiming when we sing 'I Just Wanna Be A Sheep' is that we want to follow the One who is our Shepherd, the One who knows us.

When Jesus spoke the words found in John 10:27 He not only reminded us we are His, but also that we are lot like sheep.
Like sheep we can easily become confused, losing our way in this ever constant, ever changing world. We wander away from the truth, but it is the voice of truth and grace which calls us back.
Though our world is constantly changing, our God doesn't and His voice continues to call out to us. His hand remains outstretched, a sovereign hand of love and purpose for those who He knows: His people.

Jesus, the One who calls us is full of love and compassion. Yet, He didn't simply sit still knowing what His people needed, but took action and did something about our need. There on the cross He showed us we were fully known and loved by Him. Jesus knew the rotten side of us, yet still did something about it. He knew that we needed Him to come, live a perfect life, die, and rise again so that we may have life with Him.

Camp Luther has been intentional of sharing this hopeful truth since our beginning in 1946. Here we believe that those who spend time in God's Word and in His creation, while being surrounded and encouraged by a community of believers will see they are truly known and loved by Jesus. Our belief doesn't stop with us simply recognizing we are are known by God, but continues with taking His word to light the world, to make Him known.


As followers of Jesus we get to live our lives as a response to what Jesus did. No one ever said following Jesus would be easy, but we know it's worth it. Why else would Jesus, our Shepherd, call us to follow Him if He didn't know it was the best thing for those He loves? After all, we don't have to be a sheep to know Jesus, to follow Jesus, or to make Jesus known.