Someone else said to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those in my house.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks back is fit for God’s kingdom.” — Luke 9:61-62
It’s inevitable if you live long enough. You look around at what you’ve accumulated over the years and ask, “What will my kids do with all this? I don’t want to burden them.” It’s the last part of the three-stage cycle of life: yearn for things, acquire things, dispose of things.
Among such stuff for me was a box of books I simply couldn’t part with. Bibles given as gifts from churches, with parishioners’ signatures in the front. College and seminary books that evoked memories of the profs who taught from them. Old hymnals and books of worship from decades ago, from which I planned worship and conducted baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
Before pitching or giving these artifacts away, I sat with them and let faces and events from long ago wash over me. What was in the box was significant only because of the encounters with people it provided. Somehow it was a little easier to say goodbye to the stuff because I allowed that stuff to do its work: provide an opportunity to remember and give thanks.
The past reminds us that God’s kingdom is all about today. What can we say, do, experience before we sleep tonight that will make a difference? That will draw us closer to the Creator and to one another? That may cause someone, in years to come, to pause and give thanks?
The most difficult item to part with is an old Bible, pictured above, that I used to preach from decades ago. It’s scribbled in, and no one would ever use it. I’m teetering on consigning its pages to the recycle bin. I’ve decided that when I do, it will be OK. Isn’t the Word really living in our hearts, wondering how our lives will be a sermon for today and a memory for tomorrow?
Thanks as always my good friend and Pastor.
So appropriate for my life right now and such a good reminder that God’s Kingdom is about today. Thanks.
Very wise thought. Working the sale at MUMC showed me where our treasures are often found. It is a consolation to know some of our stuff will find another home. Sad to say, most of what we save will have little meaning to others. Live and enjoy our stuff and know we will not need any of this stuff where we are going. As always, thank for your good writing, Jane C.