Checklist #3: Packing

By Pastor Ben

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my souls shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.”        (Isaiah 61:10)

From a man’s point of view, packing for a road trip is pretty easy. We usually go with the bare minimum. Shirts – Check. Pants or shorts – Check. Socks – Check. Underwear – Check. Shoes – Check. Check. Total time: 4 minutes, 35 seconds.
Anything I missed? Granted, there’s bathroom stuff & tech gadgets, but I’m thinking more about suitcase packing — what I’ll be wearing. Ladies – What would you add to the packing checklist? It would take another 3 paragraphs and another 3 hours, right?

The apostle Paul created a similar checklist — spiritually speaking. His list includes the things we are to put on day by day. These things will affect our own lives and the lives of those around us:

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” (Colossians 3:12-15)

All that seems like much more than 1 suitcase — or 1 heart can hold! What do you think? Can your heart hold all of this? Or does it lose all these qualities as easily as some airlines lose luggage?

Before you answer, imagine the morning when your broken coffeemaker ends up in the trash, along with your last shred of patience. Your kindness flies out the window as your non-caffeinated mind flips into road-rage mode. Then, forgiveness evaporates when your co-worker  or boss throws you under the bus with an important client.

Even if you haven’t had a day exactly like that, you know, deep down, that the things on Paul’s packing checklist are too much for us to handle.

But we need not rely on ourselves! We can turn to the Holy Spirit. He reminds us of our Savior’s death for all our failures. He covers us with Jesus’ righteousness.

As God’s chosen, forgiven sons & daughters, we are able to latch that over-stuffed suitcase and bring the peace of Jesus Christ along with us — wherever our travels may take us.

PRAYER STARTER:
Holy Spirit, teach me to travel with gratitude for all Your gifts . . .