GMA Essay #4 from Andy Lynn:
The Value of Royal Rangers to Me
By Andy Lynn
Ever since I was in Straight Arrows I have had the ideal instilled in me by
my commanders that the Royal Ranger program was raised up to "reach, teach,
and keep boys for Christ." Without a doubt this phrase exemplifies the
Ranger program in people's minds. I used to view Royal Rangers in the same
way; however, in my life it has come to mean so much more. Rangers has not
only reached me, taught me, and kept me for Christ, but the program has also
been a shoulder to lean on through my growth into manhood.
The Four Gold Points of the Royal Ranger Code point to the four ways a boy
grows - Men-tally, Physically, Spiritually, Socially. Once, in Pioneers, we
had a competition to see who could recite the code the fastest. I said those
words, "Four Gold Points," so many times that I became blind to their
meaning. I simply recited the words without actually taking the time to
apply them to my life. These four points show how Royal Rangers helps boys
become men.
Without Royal Rangers my physical development would be much different. The
advancement program has helped me overcome many basic fears. Earning the
Swimming Merit helped me defeat my fear of water. Royal Rangers has helped
me appreciate rather than fear the world that God has created - except for
spiders. The Nature Merit hasn't seemed to help that. To keep physically
fit myself and some of the other boys in the outpost work out together. I
have come to realize that my body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. I am
the janitor of my body and must always keep it as clean and healthy as I
can.
In previous years I unwittingly put God at the bottom of the hierarchy in my
life. Through those rough spiritual times Royal Rangers was a lighthouse,
beckoning and guiding me back to the right track with God. Whether it was a
devotion at the end of a meeting or a council fire on a starry night the
Lord always got across the message He wanted me to hear. My Ranger leaders
encouraged me to be baptized in water and prayed with me to be baptized in
the Holy Spirit. Their ministry to me has helped me learn to share my faith.
One of my commanders once said that the best testimony was "I can't remember
a time in my life that I haven't walked with the Lord." Through the Ranger
ministry and by the Grace of God I pray that will be my testimony.
Almost all of my closest friends have been and will continue to be found in
Royal Rangers. Because of my many close friends in Rangers I have become
aware of how a person should act and carry himself in a social atmosphere.
This has helped to shape my personality in a Christlike manner and aided me
in learning respect for all people.
Camping trips and other outings that have stretched my abilities have
spurred the mental growth I have achieved through Royal Rangers. I have
learned how to pitch a tent, how NOT to cook my commander's eggs, how to
think logically and creatively in all sorts of situations. In many
challenges Rangers has taught me self-discipline at school, at home, and now
at work. I've realized and overcome numerous feelings of limits and
inadequacies and now know that with God all things are possible.
I am sixteen years old and have been enrolled in the Royal Ranger program
since I was five. I have had trouble expressing the importance of Royal
Rangers in my life through this essay. It is like trying to describe a
sunset to someone who is blind or explaining to someone who is unsaved what
it feels like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The only true way to
calculate the value of Royal Rangers in a person's life is to imagine that
life without it. To me, Royal Rangers is a second family, a shoulder to cry
on, a group of brothers who will always be there for me, a guiding light in
the dark, sometimes a smile of encouragement on a bad day. God's purposes
for my life continue to unfold as He uses Rangers to make me more like
Christ.
In Luke 2:52, the New International Version says " So Jesus grew both tall
and wise, and was loved by both God and man." The Lord is still using Royal
Rangers to mold me into this perfect picture of what it means to grow
physically, mentally, spiritually, socially and to be more like God. All
that is left to say is to state exactly what I have been taught through
Royal Rangers: " With God's help I will do my best to serve God, my church,
and my fellow man; to live by the Ranger Code and make the Golden Rule my
daily rule."
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