Colossians 3:2 – Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (ESV)

I have been to visit my parents, to help them with the preparation for their move to a smaller house, to lighten their workload. I commend their willingness to face up to this chore as a necessary one, whilst it is not urgent.

They are now faced with the task of giving away or throwing out things that they have accumulated over the last 60 years.

I visited the reclamation plant with dad to shed some of the load. There we saw piles of people's discarded goods from anonymous pasts, recognisable to me once as new thirty or forty years ago, now sorted, piled up, crushed, and flattened.

It made me reflective about not taking some of my parents' furniture as an anchor to cushion me from time. Instead, I have accepted one or two small things of great value to my mum and I, like my old teddy, and a small pair of fire bellows made by my great-grandfather.

These activities have forcibly reminded me of my own time for letting go of some of my possessions. The lesson has not been forgotten, and I am grateful for it, because, after grace had worked out its miracle, I now travel lighter in spirit, if not on the hoof.

I still have a little way to go not to miss the benefits of the car, television, and bank account whilst I am here, but, meanwhile, I cling to what I have already gained in Jesus, and endeavour to hold with a lighter touch that which I have in my hand.

Like the visit to the reclamation plant, we are called to let go of that which is no longer necessary within the kingdom of Jesus.

Luke 12:24 – Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! (ESV)

Prayer: Lord, deliver us from the weevils of avarice and the covetousness of desire that eat away at our will to follow You whole-heartedly. Grant in us a pure heart, with a willingness that might be prepared to say "yes" when You pass by us and bid us to follow You today, wherever that may lead us. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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