Unpacking
Introduction
Here we are at the end of the first month of 2022. You have prayed and sought God.
2021 had a full suitcase. It was packed full. Bursting at the seams. The past three years have been so full, its hard to tell how they could have held more.
The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
A pandemic that won't end.
Vaccination battles.
Democrats fight over Biden agenda.
Derek Chauvin is convicted.
Abortion rights are challenged.
A chaotic exit from Afghanistan.
Inflation.
And more...
Overloaded.
Remember Murphy's Law? Everything that can go wrong usually will.
Murphy has some laws for packing:
No matter how early you start, there will always be "last minute packing."
No matter how light it feels, always assume you're over the weight limit.
No matter what you packed, when you arrive, you will have forgotten something.
And then there is the very real possibility that someone may have slipped something into your luggage when you left it unattended. That's the warning that plays over the intercom at airports regularly: do not leave your luggage unattended. Do not let anyone put something in your luggage. Do not carry something for a stranger.
2021 was that stranger twelve months ago.
For 365 days, the year slipped things into our lives. Sometimes subtly. Other times with an in-your-face attitude.
Glad its over. Last year's suitcase is packed. And now we have to unpack it (Introduction borrowed and modified from Ken Gurley, "Unpacking Yesterday" in Preaching For A New Millennium: Awful Arithmetic, Magnificent Math, 2006).
At the end of Philippians 3, Paul speaks about unpacking all of our yesterdays and looking towards life's tomorrows. He writes:
Philippians 3:12-16 NIV
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
There are things that we must leave behind if we are going to achieve our goals, to make it to where God wants us, both here and in the hereafter. This morning I want to talk to you on the topic "Unpacking."
In the iconic scene in the Princess Bride right before Princess Buttercup realizes that her dear Wesley is still alive, he tells her, “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.” (William Goldman, The Princess Bride)
Pain is a part of the human experience. There are seasons when pain and grief seem to come to us in bulk and other times when life goes on with little discomfort. But, if you live long enough you're going to experience hurt. God does not shelter us from this reality of human life and in Christ, He experienced it himself. He was tempted in all points like we are, and yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He experienced hardship, and sleepless nights, the death of friends and family members, slander, betrayal, wounds both mental and physical, he suffered and bled and died, for us. He chose to.
Some pain in life is imposed upon us from the outside. Children whose parents will not provide. The effects of industry on the water we drink and the air we breathe.
Other pain is pain we choose by our own bad decisions. The pain of a DUI conviction because of a choice to drink and drive. The pain of a broken marriage because of the choice to be unfaithful.
Still other pain is pain that is self-imposed because we want to reach some goal. The pain of staying up late writing papers or studying for a test. The pain of going to the gym day after day because your health matters.
Someone said, "We suffer one of two things. Either the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. You've got to choose discipline, versus regret, because discipline weighs ounces and regret weighs tons." (Jim Rohn)
And this type of pain is related to the pain we impose upon ourselves for love. The parent who awakens to feed or tend to her infant child although they are tired beyond what they can imagine. The spouse that fights to save a marriage after the infidelity of their partner. The parents or church community who welcomes and forgives the prodigal who comes home. Love has a way of overcoming pain. Love can swallow pain.
One thing to remember about the Christian life and life in general: you're not perfect and you are in relationships with other human beings who are not perfect either. Perfectionism is your enemy. If you wait until you think you are perfect do do anything, you're going to do nothing, ever.
Brené Brown said, “Perfectionism is a self destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”
Confucius said, "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without."
When Jesus called us to "be perfect" in Matthew 5:48, he did not think that perfect would mean that every aspect of our lives would be a portrait of perfection as we imagine it. There is no one who does not sin, and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The perfection Jesus is talking about is the maturity to behave like God does when He loves and forgives the transgressions of sinful humanity and gives them good things everyday in spite of their brokenness.
He calls us to unpack the hurts and pains of yesterday that keep us from living in faith, hope, and love.
Matthew 5:38-
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
In our text this morning in the older English translations the word perfect appears twice. The first time, Paul says that he realizes that he has not attained perfection.
1. There Is Always Further to Go
Philippians 3:12-13a NIV
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
Philippians 3:12a KJV
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect..."
"The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep" (Robert Frost).
Perfection as we imagine it is not attainable in this life. Perfectionism is the enemy of the good. Perfectionism is the enemy of excellence.
The older English translations used the word "perfect" here, but the more recent translations use the word "mature." When we think of the word perfect, we imagine something or someone that is completely without flaw or fault. The reality
"No one has a perfect body or a perfect mind. In that sense, all of us are disabled in some way. But beyond the physiological and psychological dimensions, all life is just the same." (Sadhguru)
Perfection is an illusion.
Perfection is unattainable.
Perfection is boring.
An apple tree is perfect at each stage of it's development; as a seed, as a sprout, as a young tree, when it first gives off blossoms, when it bears fruit. God created us to bear fruit in season. The perfection Paul is talking about is relative to where you are in your personal growth. There will always be someone farther along the Christian journey than you and there will always be someone behind you.
One of the worst things you can do in any venture of life is to expect more of yourself than what you can actually give. We are not talking about being mediocre, but about being realistic.
This is why you should celebrate every area of growth along the way!
What got us to this point is not sufficient to carry us the rest of the way.
2. We Must Participate
Philippians 3:13b-14 NIV
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Forget what is behind. We cannot literally forget everything that has been before. Paul means for us to forget in the sense that what is behind does not dictate and dominate what is present and what is future.
There are skeletons in all of our closets. There are woulda, shoulda, and couldas in every one of our lives. Regrets. Paul says we need to unpack these and go forward.
There are victories and successes in our past. Someone here won a trophy, completed a degree, grew spiritually. But, we cannot live in the nostalgia of the past. Paul says we need to unpack these as well.
We must unpack our yesterdays. Illustration.
Burke and Wills expedition failed because they brought too much stuff.
There are some things from yesterday, from last year, from childhood that you are going to have to unpack, if you are going to make it to where you want to go.
God will sometimes unpack some things for you, but most often he expects us to participate!
Paul did not wait on God to do what he could do. He said, "I press..." There are some things that are not going to happen unless we participate.
1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
It is an uphill climb.
We live in a world that tends towards disorder and disarray. It tends toward decay.
Vanity -- Ecclesiastes and Romans.
Our thoughts and affections should be out of this world.
We tend to go the direction of our gaze.
It is up to us to keep our eyes on the prize and our feet moving in the right direction. The things you have prayed about over the last several weeks. You have to participate in bringing them about.
3. Accept What We Cannot Change
Philippians 3:15-16
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Here is that word "perfect" again.
Perfection for Paul has to do with the maturity to unpack yesterday and live presently while reaching for the future.
Positionally, every person "in Christ" is perfect. When we believe and are baptized in water and Spirit we are immediately placed into the perfection of Christ. As we live into this perfection we leave things behind and move presently towards the future.
Along the journey it is important to come to the place where we have some radical acceptance. It can be hard sometimes to know what we should be fighting for and what we should just let be.
The Serenity Prayer is a great tool for discernment. I can remember reading its words on a plaque hanging on my grandmother's wall:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
Eleanor Brown modified the prayer this way:
"God, grant me the serenity to stop beating myself up for not doing thinks perfectly, the courage to forgive myself because I'm working on doing better, and the wisdom to know that You already love me just the way I am" (Eleanor Brown).
Someone here this morning is like the woman standing at the ticket counter about to board the plane whose luggage was too heavy. The attendant told her that if she wanted to get to where she wanted to go she was going to have to unpack some things.
Is where you want to go more important to you than what you have been holding onto? Is your life's suitcase so packed that it is weighing you down?
Conclusion and exhortation
There is a reason why the windshield on your vehicle is bigger than the rearview mirror. It is because where you are going is more important than where you have been.
Would you decide this morning to unpack?
