Watching my daughter pack for a missions trip this past week to Thailand brought back a few memories....One summer, during my college years, I took a job in the Catskill Mountains of New York as an art teacher and camp counselor. Packing for such a trip became quite a concern since I was to be there the entire summer. Since getting there from a small town in North Dakota also meant a plane flight that ended up in busy LaGuardia airport and a taxi cab drive from there to even busier Port Authority, which led to a bus ride to my final destination, I also needed to pack light - light enough for me to handle. Well, try telling that to a 20 year old female who thinks three months is like three years! So there I was, saying my goodbyes with two suitcases in hand (two very large, bulging suitcases that is), a back pack and an over-stuffed purse. Not too bad - well, okay, I had a lot of baggage. When I got to New York, everyone imaginable began to ask me if they could help me with my baggage. I had been warned to not let just anyone take my baggage or I might not see it again. So, I rejected everyone's offer. I went upstairs, and downstairs, down long hallways, in and out of doors trying to find where I was to go. My arms ached as my baggage got heavier. I began to struggle under my heavy load. Yet, I wasn't about to let anyone help me. That was my baggage and I intended on keeping it. At my final bus stop, I recognized the camp coordinator from a picture I had been sent and when he said, "Here, let me help you with your baggage", this time I did - whew! What a relief!!
Jesus Christ said in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And in I Peter 5:7, it says, "Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you." What welcome verses to those of us who are weary and heavy laden; for those of us who are carrying around excess baggage - emotional baggage. Perhaps today, you are bending under a heavy load, maybe bad news has distressed you, or there are crippling issues from your past that cause you a lot of pain. Some of us may be trying to carry the weight of a bad relationship, a serious health condition, financial pressures or a family crisis.
Carrying around our own emotional baggage can wear us down, tire us out and cause us all sorts of spiritual problems. We were never meant to handle the pain, the burden, and the stress all on our own. Jesus himself said, "Come unto me". He wants to carry it for us. He knows our pain, our anguish, our hurts - He understands. Why? Because He's been there. He's felt the pain of loneliness, the pain of betrayal. He's suffered through the agony of a torturous death. All to relieve us of our heaviest baggage - the weight of sin in order to give us a home in heaven. But, instead we earnestly try to hang on to our own baggage - our sin, our emotional hurts and pains, our loneliness, our fears. We turn every corner of life, walk down every hallway and in and out of doors lugging our carefully packed, bulging bags, refusing to let the Saviour help us with them, when He is beside us on every turn saying, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden." Are you like me - afraid of letting go? Are you afraid of losing something if you let the Lord handle it? Are you getting tired? Jesus says, "I will give you rest." Will you finally let Him carry your baggage - your burden? His arms are able to handle the heaviest weight, the most hurtful pain - the greatest sin.
Besides being cumbersome, hard to manage, and burdensome like my overstuffed bulging suitcases, trying to carry the wight of our own sin will keep us out of heaven. The Bible says Jesus Christ carried our sins in His own body on the tree and the day we tell Him we are trusting Him to be our Lord and Saviour from that sin is the last day we will ever carry our burden alone! Won't you let His strong arms carry your baggage, your burden - today? He stands there with his strong arms reaching out to you and saying "Come unto me. Let me carry your baggage for you. I can handle it." Jesus Christ can handle it - He already bore the weight of our sins upon the cross. The rest is easy and it comes with this promise - "I will give you rest." Is your soul tired today? Are you weary from lugging around excess baggage? Let Jesus give you what only He can - peace and rest at last.
Check out Faith for Life page 6 for the article Knowing for Sure You're Going to Heaven. It will tell you how you can find that peace and rest in the Lord (www.fargobaptist.org/PDFs/08-10_Faith_for_Life.pdf).
Have a blessed day.
Lori
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