Unpacking

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.