Daily Devotional, Sept 27, 2023 Excess Baggage
"Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Anyone traveling from a shopping destination abroad is prone to having excess baggage. Shopping hauls and bargain finds are aplenty so most could not resist the urge to splurge. At the departure terminal though, the shopaholic traveler’s dream vacay will start turn into a nightmare. The excess baggage was not only a pain to secure and carry around. It also entailed additional expenses since the traveler went beyond the airline’s luggage allowance.
As Christians, we are called to live a life without the excess baggage. Whether it is in the form of possessions, sins, deep-seated anger, fears and worries — emotional baggage weighs a person down, and prevents him to live a life with arms lifted up to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The opening lines of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Chapter five talked about shedding the burden of enslavement, which can be likened to the excess baggage of our lives. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). To apply this bible truth to our lives today, we can say that the burden or the weight of any form of enslavement, for instance enslavement to covetousness, self-idolatry, and consumerism can take a toll on our spiritual health.
Contrary to world values that call for excessiveness hinders us from fully enjoying life. Too much possessions clutter our homes and minds. Storing way too much is also depriving others from what could have been a charitable act on our part. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was quoted as saying “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Our journey towards the Lord heart should also be without excess baggage in the form of sins, anger, and needless anxieties. These just weighs our souls down and hinders us from totally surrendering our life to Jesus. In his letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul encouraged the church to give up what hinders them from getting close to the Lord and living a life in Him: “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Ultimately, not carrying excess baggage is our way of showing that we trust in the Lord’s provision. That we do not find security in wealth, instead, we trust that He will be there to provide for us, as we accomplish His will in our life. When He sent out his disciples, he instructed them to not carry anything with them in their journey (Matthew 10:9-10), so let us take a cue from this and put our trusts on Jesus, and not on excessive possessions.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Hebrews 12:1-2, and 12-15 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: To you carry around excess emotional baggage? How do you pan to turn these over to our Lord Jesus Christ?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for offering to carry my excess baggage for me. I want to get rid of my fears, worries, and deep wounds of sins in my life. I pray that I could totally surrender all these to you, so I could walk closely with you, amen.