Cargo-Less Lifestyle

Psalm 2:8

“Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.”

This is not megalomania. This is our whole purpose of our existence as the church of Jesus Christ. If we lose this vision of reaching out to those who are just about to perish, we have no legal right to claim our inheritance.

What do you think, why those people on the boat, centurion, the owner of the boat and everybody else, why nobody trusted Paul in the beginning of their voyage? They all heard him, but nobody cared what this Christian prisoner/apostle/missionary/lunatic was saying. Why?

Some were maybe just very homesick and couldn’t wait any longer, they could not imagine staying another winter away from home, from their loved ones. It’s possible. Captain and the crew, the professional experienced sailors might have been thinking: By what right is this Jewish rabbi heretic trying to tell us, the pros, how to sail, when to sail, where to sail? Why should we listen to his black prognosis?

And there could be many other reasons among those 276 passengers why they just wanted to keep on sailing despite Paul’s serious warnings.

And I believe that there were also some businessmen onboard, merchants, traders, who did not like any delays and wanted to get to the final destination, to Rome so that they can sell their goods, their cargo and make their profits and investments.

Now, are any of those reasons evil on its own? No! There is nothing wrong in those motives. They are not sinful per se.

There is nothing wrong with having a cargo in your life – to have stuff, to have a family, to have a business and do business, make profit and invest and reinvest, to travel and to enjoy life etc. It is not evil, nor sinful.

It is good when ship is in the water; it is no so good when water gets into the ship.

It is good when there is cargo in your life; it is no so good, when your life is in your cargo.

After 14 very stormy days, nobody ate the whole time, they thought this is it; we are all going to die.

It is interesting to observe what were their priorities in the time of great stress and in life danger.

Acts 27:18 – cargo went first – already on the second day!

When it is a question of life and death, cargo becomes a burden. Those precious things that were supposed to bring good profits seemed not so profitable when tossed by the great waves.

You know that we did not have this problem in our family life, but when people face the death sentence, when the doctors tell you: You have a cancer, you might live a few months… cargo goes out first!

God sometimes has to bring storms like this into our life to help us realize what is really important. Sometimes He has to teach us to live cargo-less lifestyle. Sometimes God has to take all the distractions away so that we can see what the life is all about – And it is not about the CARGO!

That’s why cargo went out first.

Acts 27:19 – “on the third they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.” Instruments for running, operating the ship. Instruments that were supposed to save their lives, but were useless against the power of the storm that came upon them.