Carry-On Baggage

I seem to have had this conversation with myself and others many times. Most often it comes before a backpacking trip for two reasons. The first reason is that it is really easy to relate getting rid of extra baggage in our lives to packing a backpack. The second reason is that if you talk about it before your group packs, they will hopefully pack less which means less complaining and back aches later.

After I finished college I spent the few weeks I had at home going through all my old stuff and trying to get rid of the "baggage" I had kept from over the years so my parents wouldn't be left with a mess when I was gone. I went through old photos, notes from friends, cheesy lyrics I spent hours on and never put to music, and all my sports memorabilia from high school. I was able to narrow all my stuff down to one large plastic tub, which I would pack along with me as I moved to Virginia. A couple weeks ago, my fiancee and I were talking about memories from high school and what might be important to keep as we shared our lives together and some day with our kids. As we pursue life together, there are also some things we need to let go of.

As I thought about it I realized that this plastic tub (a very heavy plastic tub) was quite intentionally full of me. I had kept things that kept me holding on to a past that I needed to let go of. It's important to know where we have come from and with all that is available with technology and things today, it's easy to keep track of your life, but some things need to be thrown away. We can't ignore our past and how it has affected us, but when we hold on to things that serve as constant reminders of our achievements and our downfalls, we aren't able to move on completely. I say achievements as well as downfalls, because both must be behind us.

As followers of Christ we are called to depend on Him completely. Our achievements would not have been achieved without his guidance and strength and we aren't to boast in these achievements. In the ministry field we tend to talk about numbers and view success by how many people were in church or how many tell you how great the sermon was or how they were moved. It's great when those things happen and we should rejoice that God is working through his people, but there is much more work to be done. Greater things are yet to come as the song goes.

When it comes to the places we have failed, we tend to hold on to them as excuses as to why we can't move forward or why we are inadequate for the work we are required to do. We are all inadequate to carry out the message of the Gospel. We were made adequate by the love of Christ and his death on the cross. He prepares us for the work he has to do. If we don't feel prepared, it is because we have failed to trust him.

As we pursue the will of God in our lives we must throw away the things that may hinder us (Hebrews 12:1-3). When Jesus sends out his disciples to minister in the villages he says:

"When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere." (Luke 9:1-6)

He tells them not to take anything. They must depend completely on him to provide for their basic needs  of food, clothing, and shelter. God has seen our past. He has redeemed us, and he knows what lies ahead, but we can't carry extra baggage. He provides for us everything we need when it is needed. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus and the eternal message that he brings. The things we do on this earth will fall away. The areas in our lives where we have failed him have been erased by his all consuming grace. When we make the decision to get rid of our extra baggage that we have insisted on carrying for so long, we allow God to completely enter our hearts and in doing so we can more fully share His love with others. I'll wrap up with one of my favorite scriptures from Philippians 3:12-14,

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."