EXCESS BAGGAGE

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Lake Isabella is located in the high desert about an hour east of Bakersfield, California. Last summer, some folks decided to take their new boat out for a spin on the lake. They were new to boating and were excited to see what their powerful boat could do on the smooth glassy water. Unfortunately they began having problems as soon as they launched. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get their brand new twenty-two foot speedboat going. It was extremely sluggish in almost every maneuver. No matter how much power was applied, the boat was slow to respond. They grew frustrated with each passing minute knowing they were missing out on their planned fun. Finally they putted to a nearby marina, hoping that someone there could tell them what was wrong. Several boat enthusiasts performed a thorough topside check revealing everything in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine, the out drive went up and down, and the prop was the correct size and pitch. Finally one of the marina employees jumped in the water to check underneath. He was not gone long before he came up choking on water. The reason…he was laughing so hard he had swallowed water into his lungs. He had discovered that under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer.

 

While you are probably laughing about how naive and uninformed these recreational boaters were. How do you launch your Christian life each morning? Do you go about your daily life as a Christian with unnecessary baggage strapped to your life?

 

When we accept Christ as our Savior He removes the hindrances of sin from our lives because of His work on the cross. His atonement for our sins allows us to be free from the penalty of sin if we only accept Him as our Savior and allow Him to be the Lord of our lives. The power of sin in our lives is removed as well when we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to direct our paths according to God’s word. We set forth in our new lives as Christians unencumbered by any hindrances that might distract us from the life as a believer (2 Peter 1:3). A problem can occur though when we allow old sins to enter back into our lives or new ones to creep in. Romans 6:12‑14 talks about this when it says,

 

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”

 

When we sin, we strap a burden on our lives that hinders us in our relationship with our Lord and slows our ability to run the Christian race for our Heavenly Father. Paul often compared the Christian life to running a race. He observed how athletes trained and dedicated themselves to excellence as they competed for prizes. He used this analogy to stress the importance of removing any hindrances to our spiritual lives so that we could better serve our God.

 

God spoke through Paul in two such portions of scripture to communicate this truth. The first is in Hebrews 12:1‑3. It says,

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

Here Paul encourages us to remove anything from our lives that would keep us from excellence in our Christian walk. Just like the boat trailer that was attached to the boat in the story above, anything that hinders our walk with Christ should be dealt with and removed. This allows the Holy Spirit to do His work of conforming us to the image of Christ. 1 John 1:9 assures us that any sin strapped to our back that hinders our spiritual growth can be removed and eliminated if we but seek God in prayers of confession.

 

1 Corinthians 9:24‑27 is another verse that addresses this matter. It states,

 

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

 

When you read the last part of this verse you almost feel like Paul is condoning masochism, where we should torture ourselves for Christ, but this is not Paul’s intention. His desire is for us to understand that living as Christians, means sacrificing our own will and desires so that we can seek God’s glorification in our lives. We are called to be dead to sin (Romans 6:11) and live for righteousness. When we live our lives for Christ, we often feel that we are suffering because our flesh craves to sin and to deny these desires is uncomfortable. Our call to live holy lives as believers requires us to live by God’s standards not our own. This sacrifice to deny our fleshly desires will often feel uncomfortable. James chapter one discusses the benefits of holding firm under temptation because of the spiritual benefits that result. The spiritual confidence and peace gained from such choices will far outweigh any fleshly gratification. Perfect, holy joy can be experienced when we see the power of God manifested in our thoughts, desires and actions.

 

Christians are sinners set free from the burdens of sin. John 8:31-37 tells us that the truth will make us free and that God’s Son provides a way to experience this truth. Launching our lives each morning with burdens of sin, like the trailer on the boat, is not the plan God has for our lives as servants of Christ. He doesn’t want us burdened, sluggish and overwhelmed by the excess baggage of sin. We are called to soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31) and we cannot do this if we are carrying the weight of sin in our lives.

 

Have you launched your boat properly today? Have you accepted the fact that Christ can remove all the burden of sin from your life and set you free from the weight of sin? Have you continued in the faith, avoiding any hindrance that would slow your growth in Christ? I would encourage you to seek to allow Christ to remove anything, anything at all that interferes with your relationship with Him, your heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. Don’t putt around in your Christian life struggling under the burden of unconfessed sin. Soar with eagles, run as fast as you can the race set before you in Christ. Finish the race by striving to let the Holy Spirit fill you with power. Strive to be able to speak the words Paul spoke in his last moments in 2 Timothy 4:7‑8,

 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day‑and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”