Traveling with small children is like moving to another state. We have the toys and the clothes and the emergency snacks. Then, just in case, we also load all those little doodads like strollers and favorite videos. It seems it never ends.
By the time we’ve arrived at our destination, we realize half the stuff we could have left at home, because we’ll never use it on the trip.
Christians are the same way. We travel through life, and we load up with everything we think we may need. We take on a job, buy a car, and before long, we have a mortgage and a spouse. In case of emergency, we include insurance policies and retirement accounts. And then comes the little ones to care for, with schooling, family vacations, and even a second home in the mountains.
By the time we reach our mid-life crisis, we’ve earned it. We’ve taken on so much baggage that we can barely move when God tells us to.
Jesus suggests a better way in Matthew 24:15-30. In our Christian walk we will face tough situations. When hardships come against us, we are to flee to the one who resides on the mountaintops. We are to run to God for our salvation.
Can we turn tail and run with all our mortgages, insurance policies, and retirement accounts? Jesus says no. In fact, he says to abandon everything we have collected in our homes when we run to him. If we are at work, we are not to check up on our retirement accounts or go online to make sure our payment drafts have gone through successfully. Don’t call the pool guy to clean the pool while we’re gone. Simply go. Run to Jesus.
Even so, Jesus tells us there are some things we cannot abandon, such as those who depend upon us. Our children. Babies. However, he also expresses sorrow, because he knows how hard it will be to flee to him, while taking the time to minister to those in our care.
Jesus wants us to keep things simple. It is those who travel with a backpack and a pocket of change who can shift gears in a heartbeat, who can go where Jesus needs them to go, and who can run to him with all abandon when distress comes their way.
When our priorities are anywhere but on Jesus, our attention will be pulled away from him.
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