Traveling Light

What extra baggage are you carrying?

What baggage are you carrying in your spiritual walk with Christ? What are you “packing” that is not needed? We all carry baggage through life! Some of it is good and light baggage, but, unfortunately, some of it is heavy and unneeded. If we are going to maximize our traveling with Jesus, our baggage needs to be light. We need to “throw off” anything that hinders us in the race (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Over the last twenty years, my wife and I have had the privilege of traveling to Europe almost a dozen times - on mission trips or vacations. On our first trip, we fully packed both a large and small suitcase each (4 suitcases) for a ten-day trip. We definitely overpacked. On each successive trip, we packed a little less - until we were down to one carry-on and a backpack each (no need to hassle with checked luggage). This was our luggage even when we had the privilege of spending a month in Paris a few years ago.

There is a great story in God’s Word that reinforces the concept of packing light. David had the opportunity and succeeded in taking down the giant Goliath. However, before David faced Goliath, King Saul tried to convince him to wear his personal armor for the battle. David said, “No way! This stuff is too much.” Read about it below.

Then Saul gave David his own armor-a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. "I can't go in these," he protested to Saul. "I'm not used to them." So David took them off again. — 1 Samuel 17:38-39 NLT

Then David went to battle against the opposing giant. He didn’t take a lance or a sword. He didn’t hold a shield for protection. He packed light in order to slay this mighty enemy.

He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd's bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. — 1 Samuel 17:40 NLT

We know the outcome. He slayed Goliath with a stone thrown from his sling. We all face giants in our lives. Maybe not the size of a Goliath. Probably not even a physical person. But we each have giants in life. And well-meaning people often encourage us to wear “armor” that does not fit us. What does this look like in our spiritual formation journey? How do well-meaning people try to burden us with spiritual practices that just do not fit? Here are a few examples of how well-meaning persons might try to get you to “wear armor” that is not right for you.

• How and when to spend time with God (our quiet or devotional times).

  • Getting up early to read the Bible and pray before you do anything else is the right way to spend time with God. Wrong! What if you are not a morning person, and your most alert time of day is after midnight (when everyone else in your house is asleep)? First thing in the morning devotional time is probably not the best time for you. If God created you as a “night owl,” give God your best time of day to come into his presence.

  • You need to read at least a chapter of the Bible each day or you need to read the Bible through each year. Wrong! I have found that God shapes me from his word more if I read smaller passages daily and meditate on them throughout the day. Read what God leads you to read, not what someone else says you should read.

• Promoting one spiritual practice as the “most important.”

  • What is the most important element of a worship service? Most pastors will say it is the sermon. Wrong! And I am a retired pastor! The most important element is the one that God uses the most to speak to you and shape you.

  • God has definitely spoken to me through sermons, but I have also been ushered into his presence and changed by the music I sang with other Believers. Once, on a mission trip to Hungry, our mission team was worshipping with a small Hungarian church plant. A little over thirty people were in attendance - a dozen of our team and about twenty Hungarians. The Hungarian worship leader led us in a very familiar chorus. We sang in English while the Hungarians sang in Magyar (the Hungarian language). I was brought to tears as God reminded me of Revelation 7:9, which says people from every tribe and nation will be in heaven.

  • Not having enough faith.

    • “If you had more faith, this wouldn’t be happening. You need to trust the Lord more!” Almost every one of us could have more faith. But the troubles in our lives are not a cause and effect of our faith. The Apostle Paul had what we might call “mega-faith.” Yet, look at his life.

Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. - 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 NLT

• Ask the Lord to increase your faith. It is a gift from him (Ephesians 2:8). But please do not think that the troubles and trials in your life are because you lack faith.

These are just a few examples of how well-meaning Christians try to get you to carry unnecessary baggage in your spiritual walk. In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul urges us not to let the world squeeze us into its mold. A corollary to that is not to let well-meaning Christians squeeze us into their mold of being formed into Christ’s image.

Eugene Peterson challenges us to travel light in his excellent book about King David. He says…

• Are we going to live this life from our knees, imaginatively and personally? 

• Are we going to live out of our God-created, Spirit-anointed being? 

• Are we going to be shaped by our fears of Goliath or by God? 

• Are we going to trust God or manmade armor?

Both our society and the church convey that we are to fit a norm - we act and be a certain way. Whether in the world or in the church, we are led to believe “this is how we do things around here.” But God created each of us as unique persons. There has never been another you, and there never will be. No one else has your DNA! God has created your personality (introvert/extrovert, etc.), your looks, your stature, your likes and dislikes, and on and on. As you grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3:18) you need to realize that your grow should be customized for your uniqueness. This means in being formed into His image you must travel light. You should not have to put on someone else’s ideas of what is the best and only way to be formed into the image of Christ. You should not be carrying extra baggage that slows you down. You are free to be spiritually formed in the way that God created you!

So, what do you need to remove from your spiritual suitcase? What do you need to do in order to travel light as you are being conformed to the image of Christ?