It’s summertime and I bet you’re packing for something

So Friday morning a few weeks ago I packed for a trip that would take me eight hours from home for seven days.  I had to think it through long and hard.  I’d be preaching a bunch - so ties and tie chain, I had to take running shoes, dress shoes, casual shoes, there were suits to take and shirts and running clothes. Of course I had to make sure I had underclothes, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant and all that sort of stuff. Then there was the technology - headphones, chargers, tablets, computers. And I couldn't forget sermon notes, outlines, books and The Book.  I am a strong believer in packing light but this had to be thought through.  

I got back home Thursday afternoon and the Friday evening headed back out for an overnight trip to preach in Adamsville, Alabama all day Saturday.  I tossed a jacket and shirt on a rack, put my “shaving kit” in a bag with fresh running clothes, grabbed my computer and Bible and headed out - boom.

The longest trip I ever took was for a month in Russia (I had a 70 pound per bag limit and a two bag limit - I had to get rid of some stuff for that trip) and the shortest was to my mailbox and back.  Preparing for those two trips was completely different.

You are packing for a trip. It’s a long one. It is from here to eternity.  Have you thought about getting ready for it? What have you decided to pack? It’s going to take a lifetime to get there but we’re all going. Have you thought through what you will need to be ready for it: Attitudes, obedience, faith, love, the fruit of the Spirit, Christian graces? And there are some things you better not take: bitterness, meanness, a disobedient heart, broken relationships that you haven’t tried to restore, works of the flesh.

I’m going on a trip and so are you. Have you proactively thought about what you will take?

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