Unloading Your Baggage

Have you ever heard someone say, “Be careful of so-and-so, they have baggage”? What they really mean is that person has stuff, they have junk, in their life that they will carry into their relationship with you, and most often, that baggage will cause problems.

The truth is, we all have baggage. We all have a past, and that past is filled with successes and failures, both big and small. That past is filled with smiles and also with tears. It is filled with things we are glad to share with others, and it is filled with things we keep hidden from others, or at least “hidden” until someone posts it on social media.

In part, our past makes us who we are today. While we are all influenced by our past, we do not have to let our past dictate the present or the future. Sometimes we allow our past, our baggage, our junk, to be like carrying all of our possessions in suitcases on our back; it is hard and tiring work and it weighs us down. The longer we try to carry that baggage, the more it weighs us down. And sadly, oftentimes, others just watch us struggle and do nothing.

But unlike those who see us struggling and never offer assistance, we have a God who does not sit idly by and watch us struggle. You might right now be thinking, “Oh you don’t know my past. The pain is too great or the hole is just too deep to climb out of, God can never help me.” The truth is, God loves you and is interested in redeeming and restoring you, no matter how broken you feel; He wants to unload the baggage off your aching back.

David wrote this in Psalm 40:1-2 – “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

So, when you feel weighed down, drag yourself to Jesus and unload your baggage at His feet. It is in that transaction that Jesus promises to give you rest. I will end with these familiar words – “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).  

Let me end with this challenge. It is easy to sit idly by when we see others struggling since we are already hauling around our own stuff, and who needs loaded down with the junk of others anyway. But sitting idly by is not what Scripture calls us to. Here is what we find in Galatians 6:2, “Carry (to bear, meaning take up not take on; there is a difference) each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” You ask, what is the law of Christ? Well, just one chapter earlier, Paul is quoting Jesus (from Matthew 22:34-40) – “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14).