Did You Pack Right?
I’ve always loved to get up and go. As a child, I did the family holiday planning. I called hotels and car rental companies to get quotes, and then would present a list of the most affordable options to my father, all in the hopes that he would say yes, and that we could go on that trip. I loved it. I remember one hotel reservation company hanging up on me because he thought I was too young to call and get their rates. But with tenacity and persistence, we did take a few of those trips that I planned and pushed for. And then came the suitcase packing. I would pack a month in advance for trips because I was so excited to get up and go somewhere. But, the day after I packed for a trip that was a month away, I realized I needed those clothes and had to take them out of the suitcase to wear- haha!
Now, I just pack the day of my flight. I can’t be bothered to pack a month in advance. Recently, I was thinking about packing. Before we take a trip, we have to make sure we have the necessary materials to make the trip enjoyable and worthwhile. And this larger question came to my mind: do I have the necessary materials to make it home to Heaven? We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. The necessary materials for Heaven I’m referring to are spiritual, not material?
Jude 1:23 tells us to “save others by snatching them from the fire.” While Heaven and hell are real places, whether we know it or not, our lives on earth are a reflection of the necessary materials we are packing to get to either eternal place.
Writer Annie Dillard writes about 19th century explorers who packed necessary provisions for an expedition to the North Pole. She writes:
Each sailing vessel carried an auxiliary steam engine and a twelve-day supply of coal for the entire projected two or three years’ voyage. Instead of additional coal, each ship made room for a 1,200-volume library, “a hand-organ playing fifty tunes,” china place settings for officers and men, cut-glass wine goblets, and sterling silver flatware… The expedition carried no special clothing for the Arctic, only the uniforms of Her Majesty’s Navy.
Years later, Inuit eskimos discovered remains of the expedition- these men dressed in high style with place settings of sterling silver and chocolate. Who needs a 1,200-volume library and a hand-organ to discover the North Pole? Doesn’t it seem more sensible to bring extra amounts of coal, first aid gear, warm thermal gear, and escape back up equipment?
James, the biological brother of Jesus and writer of the book of James shares, “we are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14).” And while we appear for a little while, we must make sure that our necessary materials [i.e. our spirit is equipped to make it to Heaven] where we come from. If we focus on packing the wrong materials, we will end up losing our souls to unnecessary naïve materials, materials that won’t be able to sustain us and give us eternal life.
Friends, Jesus is the number one necessary material that we need to escape hell’s fires. It is in Him and life rooted in Him that He will give us a life worth living on earth. Not only will He keep us from the kind of naïveté that these explorers had, He will guide us in the decisions we have to make, while being alive on earth, and He will shield us from harm and danger. It doesn’t mean we won’t have troubles and problems, but He will save us from all kinds of calamities.
So, as you look at the rest of 2020, a year that has brought us all so much challenge, sit and have a conversation with yourself, your spiritual self and ask: do I have the necessary materials to make it home to Heaven? And if not, if you don’t have Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, all it takes is admitting you are a sinner, repenting from all unrighteousness, believing on the name of Jesus, committing your life to Him, getting planted in a Bible-based church, and getting in the Bible and reading it for yourself.