Her Backpack Is Packed and Ready to Go

Our youngest granddaughter, Channing, is a hoot.  Her nearest sibling is nearly eight years older than her.  “Surprise, here I am!” 😊 She loves my wife, Pam who is called by our grands, “Sassy” (I wonder why?!…getting myself into trouble…).  Almost every day she freshly packs her backpack fully prepared to spend the night or nights with Sassy.  This past Wednesday, she rolled in her cute little bag announcing that she expects to spend tonight with her loving, doting grandmother.  Let me assure that those two are in their own world affectionately loving each other. 

Thinking about this, as believers in Jesus, shouldn’t we have the same attitude as Channing?  We should be prepared 24X7 at any moment to spend eternity with Jesus.  Luke 12:35 states this message succinctly with a lot of punch, “Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit.”  In other words, keep your backpack ready to travel.

Like Channing, why should we be so excited to see Jesus?  1 Corinthians 2:9 makes a declaration that should be thrilling to each of His children, pronouncing, “Just as it is written: ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the human heart, All that God has prepared for those who love Him!’” 

Hopefully, we are not caught up in the world to such a degree that there is little desire to pack our bags to go to heaven.  1 John 2 admonishes and instructs us, “¹⁵ Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.”

1 Peter 2:11-12 calls us “foreigners and strangers” in this world and “to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. ¹² Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.”  Live in a way that ungodly people see your “good deeds” and glorify your God.  If so, others are packing their bags right along with you.

Is your bag packed?