"Background Baggage"
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I've never been what you'd call an "over-packer." Even on longer trips, it's a game to see how little I can bring with me. But my mom is the polar opposite. On our family vacations, she was always pushing the limits of how many bags she took, and how heavy the suitcases were.
We all have a story. And those stories can be a source of baggage for us. How much baggage are you carrying with you? Whether you grew up in a godly home or not, you still have challenges to overcome in your walk with Christ. So let's look at a few ways our backgrounds might weigh us down.
Baggage of a Worldly Background
Maybe you struggle with being drawn back into sin. The possibility that sin could wrap us up again is always there. And even more for those who've spent a lot of time with the world. As Peter warned, "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first" (2 Peter 2:20).
Are you weighed down by the lasting effects of sin? Leaving a sinful lifestyle may not automatically remove the impact of those choices on your life. There might still be a physical price to pay, like disease, debt, addiction, broken relationships, or even imprisonment (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Lean on the Lord, who washed you from your sins, to lift that burden of your old way of life.
Baggage of a Godly Background
Even for those who were raised to know the truth, it can be easy to slip into stagnation and traditionalism. Going through the motions is a challenge for those who have been serving God most of their lives. But Jesus offers the solution: "... you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first" (Rev. 2:4–5).
Finally, maybe you've developed a lack of empathy. Not having lived a life of worldliness, we might be left unable to relate to the world. Would you step in and help someone beaten down on the side of the road like the Samaritan (Luke 10:31-33)? Or, like those religious men, would you pass by on the other side and avoid helping?
So what's your story? What baggage did you bring with you when you started walking that narrow road toward life? May God enable us to lay aside every weight and sin so we can run the race of life with endurance (Heb. 12:1-2)!
