Month: April 2007

What’s In Your Suitcase?

I am going through the annual process of packing for my trip to the States. Sometimes this can be challenging. The reason is simple: I have plenty of “stuff,” but not much of it will fit in a suitcase. Almost all of my belongings are left here, and only a few important items can come with me.

There is a spiritual analogy in this experience. According to the Bible, this life is temporary, so we should think of it as preparation for eternity. When we die, we leave everything behind. Even your most precious earthly possessions have no eternal value. Only a few things will “fit” in our “eternal suitcase.”

All we can take into eternity is our relationship with God and our service to Him. If we are not careful, we will spend all of our time on things which really do not matter. Jesus warned about this approach to life:

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

–Luke 12:16-21

Rick Warren said it this way:

“When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.”
–Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life

How much of your life are you spending on eternal things? What’s in your suitcase?

Holy Week Reflections: Love is Not a Feeling

I did not enjoy the sound of my alarm at 4:00 am Wednesday morning. A couple of other factors made waking up even harder. I caught a cold a few days before and had sinus congestion. I somehow sprained my neck at the gym and it was still sore.

I did get up, despite not feeling I was at 100% strength. Why? Love is the reason.

No, I didn’t have an early morning breakfast date with a beautiful woman. I did give my word that I would meet a friend and leave with him at 5:00 am. I had a seminar scheduled for a group of about 70 students from One Body in Christ Ministries (a church in Manila). I rode with them to the Subic Bay area in Bataan. Love for God and love for those students compelled me to keep my word.

My physical discomfort was not really such a big deal. The experience, however, did remind me of an important truth: love is not just a feeling.

When we talk or sing about love, we usually start telling people how we feel (or how that “special someone” makes us feel). Some even do immoral things (like pre-marital sex or having an extra-marital affair) and say “I was in love, I couldn’t help myself.”

Of course love affects our emotions, but true love is much more than just the way we feel. In fact, true love will cause us to do things we don’t feel like doing. True love will cause us to do the right thing, even when it is not easy (1st Corinthians 13:6)

We are now in a season (holy week) in which we ponder the suffering of Jesus. Consider His prayer the nigh before He was crucified:

 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
–Luke 22:42

Why would Jesus pray for the “cup of suffering” to be removed? He was a sane human being. Just like the rest of us, He had a natural desire for comfort and self-preservation. No sane, healthy person wants his/her life to end—especially not by crucifixion.

Despite His normal desire to live, Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to death on a cross. Why? He did this because of His love for us. We can develop a more mature understanding of love by remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

This is one of the many articles that you’ll find in my book: Basta Lovelife: Making Wise Relationship Decisions.