The Journey

"And Jesus said to them, Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere." Luke 9:3-6

Because of the way my life is, I normally don't sit around our house. I have recently because of a health problem and yesterday had surgery. So, I have time to think about things and get reacquainted with our stuff. Stuff that we have been acquiring for many years. We are certainly not extravagant in what we purchase, but I am amazed at how much stuff we have. Especially the needless stuff like trinkets!

Jesus sent the 12 apostles out and told them to leave their stuff behind. Take nothing. God would be their provider and they will have what they need. They were also given the gift of healing as they went through the villages spreading the gospel. There was nothing in their way to distract them from their mission.

How hard is it for us to do these things? To leave all behind to follow Jesus. We think we need our stuff for the journey. And sometimes, I guess we do. Not all are called to the type of ministry the apostles had...but all of us are called to do the same things. To spread the gospel and be light to a dark world.

I guess as I reflect on this, I come to the conclusion that I spend more time on keeping my stuff instead of releasing it. I work hard to make sure our stuff stays safe and we have the comforts of life around us. I need to balance that out. I wrote a song many years ago where the chorus says;

I have more than enough, I have more than I need
Is the state of my heart lost in this age of greed?
How can I carry this cross that You've given to me?
Heal the state of my heart.

It's a good reminder as we are coming up on Christmas. I haven't had time to go buy more "stuff" for our family. I hope I can keep it reasonable. Merry Christmas all.