Celebrating SimplicitySample

Drowning in Stuff

My daughter has never packed lightly for anything. Her suitcase for a week at summer camp would weigh somewhere around fifty pounds, in addition to her sleeping bag, pillow, camera, and other miscellaneous jackets and hats that wouldn’t fit into the suitcase. After a while the handle began to rip off the bag because it had been crammed to capacity so many times.

I wonder what Jesus’ entourage looked like as he traveled around Israel. There were at least thirteen men and several women in the regular group, plus those who followed along for part of the time. Sometimes there were even large crowds traveling with them (see Mark 6:30-44). How did they pack? And who carried all of their stuff? They were not wealthy, though we know that the women mentioned by name in the rest of Luke 8:2 supported Jesus and his disciples, so they weren’t destitute either. Were they each allotted one suitcase and a carry-on?

Humor aside, we need to note that Jesus never let anything detract from his focus of preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. He trusted God to provide, allowing material possessions to serve him and his disciples rather than the other way around.

The question for us is which of the possessions and activities in our lives are keeping us from following Jesus fully?

From Spiritual Disciplines Devotional by Valerie E. Hess.