I'm travellin' light on this journey I'm on,
Don't need any baggage, 'cause I'm goin' home.
The weight of this world will only slow me down;
I'm walkin' on by faith and not by sight, and I'm travellin' light!
Due to the increasingly rigid restrictions for baggage on airline flights, I am working hard to pack light for my trip to Ukraine (even though I am going for 2 years). The funny thing is, now that I have to, I am realizing how much I really can do without -- and that frees me up from the stress of trying to fit everything in!
The gospel song is talking about our journey to our real home -- heaven -- and so it's really not about physical baggage. So as I was thinking about this, I recalled the words of the apostle Paul in Colossians 3:
Since, then, you have been
raised with Christ, set your
hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things. For
you died, and your
life is now hidden with Christ in God…
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly
nature:
sexual immorality, impurity,
lust, evil desires and greed, which is
idolatry...
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
But
now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage,
malice, slander, and
filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with
its practices and have put on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator…
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe
yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a
grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And
over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect
unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since
as members of one body you
were called to peace. And
be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly
as
you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the
Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And
whatever you do, whether
in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through
him.
These are some instructions for what kind of "baggage" to get rid of and what to replace it with. And though this is considerably more difficult than simply narrowing down my selection of clothing, it is significantly more important in an eternal perspective.
When we do not "put off" the things of our earthly nature, it creates hurt, disappointment and trouble and it weighs us down with stress, unhappiness and sin. But when we do choose to clothe ourselves with the qualities God desires to see in us, it frees us up to live peaceably with one another and usually we are happier too.
I am thankful that we are "being renewed in the image of [our] Creator," but I am not there yet. By the end of August, my suitcases will be packed for my life overseas, but the process of becoming more like Christ in my thoughts, attitudes, words and actions will continue until the day I go to my real home.
Until then, I will practice "travelling light."
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