What do you need to Leave Behind?
Sadly, a few weeks ago, my family traveled to the sprawling complex called the Golden Triangle Regional Airport; oh, the hassles of airport travel! We were there to bid farewell to my daughter, a student at Kings College London. We maneuvered our car though the endless traffic entering and exiting the airport and circled through the parking garage a few times looking for that elusive empty spot (ok, we drove right up and parked 25 feet from the front door). On entering the airport complex, we fought our way through the mass of humanity (a nice lady watering a plant) on our way to the ever-popular serpentineroped-line leading up to the check-in counter (yes, we walked right up to the counter). As the time approached for her to check her bag and place it on the scale, and after I had to summon superhero strength to lift it up (because it felt like Thor’s hammer), there was considerable concern that it might well exceed the 52lb. limit for international bags. It did! After a brief consultation with my back (and Thor nowhere in sight), I summoned a forklift. We fought our way back through the masses (the lady watering the plant) and maneuvered my daughter’s bag through the capacious concourse (about 25 feet) to a more secluded area of the airport (just inside the front doors). Now my daughter was faced with a choice. It was a question of priorities, “What do I take, and what do I leave behind.
A Question of Priorities
In Matthew 4:18-22 we read about Jesus calling His first disciples to “Come, and follow me.”the text mentions four disciples: Peter and his brother Andrew, followed by James and John. All were professional fishermen, a trade passed down from their fathers. As Jesus passed by on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he called out to them,
“Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” In essence Jesus was saying to them that there are bigger fish than these, more important priorities than these. The text says that they put down their nets and followed Him.
What do you need to Leave Behind?
This got me thinking about the priorities in our lives. Mercifully, as 2020 ends and 2021 begins, at the end of what has been one of the most divisive years in our nation’s history, as we turn a new page in a new year, I began to wonder if there were some things we need to leave behind as well? Are our bags overpacked with needless items and heavy burdens? Have we given too much of our time, energy, and passion to the “little fish”? Jesus has called us all to be on a journey with Him, and, on this journey, there are some things that we just do not need:
1. Heavy Burdens that weigh us down - Sometime we carry unnecessary burdens, things that haunt us, trouble us, and break us down under their consuming weight. Jesus had an answer for those travelers: “Cast all your burdens on Him .... ” He told his followers, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30). The truth is, for our own sake, there are some things in our lives that we just need to lay down.
2. Destructive Habits There are some things we carry around with us that are not welcome on this journey with Jesus. Enough said; the Holy Spirit can take it from there.
3. Divisive Passions - Can we just decide to leave some of the hate and harmful rhetoric in 2020? Can we just lay it down, and then pick up some things that are good for us all? If you don’t know what those things are, I have included a packing list for you: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Selfcontrol. These are items that every traveler welcomes.
If we all decided to put some things down and to pick up some other things, what a joyful journey we will have with one anther.
Repacking for 2021,