2 Suitcases and Christ.....

Meditations from the weekend of June 17-18 in the life of Emmanuel

So, I am sitting across from Bonnie. Bonnie is around sixtyish (give or take 20 years : ) She is heading for the next three years to Niger, W. Africa. She's a nurse.... The people in Niger have medical needs. She's going. Here I am at the "BonnieFest" eating, laughing, and enjoying life and I experienced a moment that placed me at a crossroads. Bonnie said, 'my life has boiled down to 2 Suitcases... 50lb's each and that's all I can take with me." I responded, 'wow, all of life boils down to 2 suitcases and Christ." Bonnie's reply has left me bereft.... pondering.... challenged.... longing to live for the upward call of God. She said, ' and that's more than enough!!!" Are you kidding? 2 suitcases and Christ is more than enough. Honestly, I don't know how that will pan out in my life, but I want to get there. I want to genuinely say to God, You, O God, are more than enough. I am not even sure if I need the 2 suitcases. A party... a meal... and my eternity gets rocked. I will wrestle with God alot.... hopefully as long as I live.... with living holding loosely to this earth and holding fast to Him.... His values.... His passions..... HIs move. I have no idea what the 2 suitcases and Christ will look like for me. But, I really, desperately want to find out.

We closed out echo (with a sweet Rocky I bonus video shot just for dads... Happy Father's Day! Rocky is always a good daddy's day gift to receive in church). What we do on earth really will echo throughout eternity. We arrived at a few conclusive thoughts. Paul had this whole 'upward call of God' as a deep, piercing passion. In Philippians 3.12-14, he is not writing of an insignificant pursuit. He is writing from the deepests point of his soul. He is really letting us see what makes his heart beat. I think it goes a bit deeper.... he's asking us to evaluate what makes our heart beat. He truly felt that the pursuit of this Christian life is a quest. I don't think he would have worded life just as Bonnie did, but he would say something like"life boils down to 2 suitcases and Christ and He is more than enough"... or I am a man about one thing and I strain with all my passion, affections, and heart to be about this upward life in Christ.

What do I do with this kind of passion? How do we actually make application to our lives? We asked a few questions.... questions like, do I really see this upward call as a quest? If I do, what do I do with my affections? My heart? Do I love the right things.... in the right way.... to the right degree... with the right kind of love. I am SO stinking good at taking something beautiful from our God and abusing it. I can take a hobby (the right thing) and allow it to dominate my life (the wrong way to the wrong degree with the wrong kind of love). I tend to veer with so many things... like money, relationships, etc, etc. So, I have to ask if I love the right thing in the right way to the right degree with the right kind of love and I have to ask that often.

Our closing challenge was about a rule of life.... what is your rule of life. What do I do regularly that really postures me to grow in Christ. That would be my rule of life. For instance, when do I pray? study? how do I handle money in a way that draws me closer to God? How can I fill my life with the sense of His presence?

What is your rule of life? What do you do regularly? My friend Joe said he plants corn, works on deer stand, spends countless hours preparing for one thing --- to harvest deer. Likewise, how are you posturing your life to harvest the character of Christ.

Bottom line... life is an echo. Life is a sound heard near its source again and again. What (or who) is your source? Real bottom line.... if we don't have a rule of life - things we do regularly to posture our lives to harvest Christ character, we will not be able to say "2 suitcases and Christ is more than enough". Train for life!

Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking on comments below.

Mark