Sure enough, my bag was lost.
As I awoke from over 24 hours of flying, I sluggishly drug my body off the plane and through the airport with my 54 teammates. My eyes were crusty, my was hair stiff, my clothes smelt like Arabian food and sweat, and my teeth desperately needed to be brushed.
I was the last one to get myself to the baggage claim, and I immediately went on a mission to find my beloved bag that had my cherished possessions. I had packed what I felt were necessities in life into a bag that weighed at most 50 pounds.
In a sense, it was my life packed into a bag. All of my treasured materials were stowed in this ridiculous pack.
Lo’ and behold, my pack wasn’t just lost; the airport literally had no idea where it was.
I was slightly bummed.
I had clean clothes that didn’t reek of stale airplane air and clean socks that weren’t crunchy stashed away in that bag. I had everything I felt was essential to make it across the world for a year. And in the blink of an eye, everything was stripped away except for the clothes on my back, my 24 liter day pack that contained baby wipes, my cosmetic bag, 3 pairs of underwear, my bible, some chapstick, a few electronics, and a couple of packs of gum. That is what I had to live. Those were my materials.
I was humbled.
I thought I was abandoning plenty of items, materials and “essentials.” I didn’t see myself as someone that struggled with materialism or even put that much worth into worldly treasures. To be completely honest, I thought I was a pro in this area of life. I didn’t think I needed to be stretched in the area of abandonment at all.
As days ticked by, I was challenged to face personal insecurities and I felt totally useless. In the bigger realm, I was completely pushed into the deep end by and with Jesus.
I found that I was still holding onto things of the earth with great value. Even if it was as small as having face wash or desiring to wear my brand new pair of salt water sandals that had just been gifted to me.
My problem was that I was still clenching onto the few treasures that I had taken with me. My possessions created a facade for me. I had fallen for the common misconception that as long as I had my beloved materials with me, then I had everything, including comfort and worth.
That is not what Jesus calls us to do as followers of Him. He calls us to store our treasures in heaven and to not be conformed by the patterns of this world. He warns us there is no value or weight to the materials here on planet earth – they will eventually waste away. When you start to fill in the holes of your heart with materials, it turns into a never ending cycle that will eventually suck the life out of you. You will be starving yourself from the fulfillment that Jesus can provide for you. He wants to take up all of your space.
Jesus gave me a nice little love tap on this concept. Jesus was so faithful to show me that life is never going to be filled with worth and value based upon the materials that I own. Rather it is going to be full if I am willing to let go of everything I own, to come and follow Him.
I would challenge you to take a step back and look at your own life in this calling. Are you treasuring your materials here on earth more that you are treasuring the worth that is given to you in Heaven?
Do you think that your nice cars, new homes and fancy clothes will be waiting for you in Heaven?
Will you be bold enough to choose to let go of your materialistic treasures or will you fall into the trap that the devil has so strategically set up for the entire human race?
Will you choose to let it all go for Jesus or will you let yourself get twisted in your own selfish desires?
