A Spiritual Journey Beyond Materialism

Have you ever heard someone say, "I choose to travel light"? This phrase might suggest that when they travel, they don't take much in the way of luggage—perhaps only a small bag that easily fits in the overhead compartment of a commercial airline. In a broader, less literal sense, it might indicate a philosophical departure from the material world. More specifically, it could describe an individual who intentionally refrains from accumulating worldly possessions. But would you be surprised if I told you that traveling light has a valuable spiritual application as well?

It should come as no surprise that the Bible, which has a lot to say about many things, has plenty to say about traveling light. Not so many years after God essentially did a global reboot with a cataclysmic flood to cleanse the world of sin, idolatry, and wickedness had once again become virtually universal. However, as we read in "Patriarchs and Prophets," the true faith was not to become extinct. God had always preserved a remnant to serve Him: Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, and Shem. In an unbroken line, they preserved the precious revealings of His will. God called Abram, who was eventually renamed Abraham, to be an important link in this chain of righteous succession. But there was a significant cost associated with following this call.

Abraham's Leap of Faith

In Genesis chapter 12, beginning with the first verse it says: "Now the Lord had said to Abram, 'Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.'" For Abraham, traveling light meant following God wherever He led and being willing to leave behind home, family, and all that was near and dear to him. Abraham wisely invested in the future instead of holding on to the decaying and soon-to-perish here and now of this world.

This is why we read these words: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:8-10).

The Exodus: A Collective Journey

Centuries later, "Patriarchs and Prophets" gives an account of the Exodus, saying that on that fateful night when the firstborn children throughout the land of Egypt had been slain by the avenging angel, the children of Israel—probably numbering at least a million people—were ready, waiting, and prepared to travel light to escape their 400-year captivity. Ellen White says, "With their loins girded, with sandals on their feet and staff in hand, the people of Israel stood hushed, awed yet expectant, awaiting the royal mandate that should bid them go forth." God had miraculously freed the nation of Israel from oppressive bondage. Nonetheless, like their ancestor Abraham, these people left their homes and all that was familiar to them, beginning a long journey to the Promised Land.

The Call of Elisha

The book "Prophets and Kings" has a chapter entitled "The Call of Elisha," which gives us some background on the man who was to succeed the great prophet Elijah. Elisha's father was a wealthy farmer who, despite widespread apostasy into Baal worship, had remained faithful to Jehovah. When the prophetic call came, Elisha happened to be plowing one of his father's fields. As Elijah, divinely directed in seeking a successor, passed the field in which Elisha was plowing, he cast upon the young man's shoulders the mantle of consecration.

The Spirit of God impressed Elisha's heart as to the meaning of the prophet's act. To him, it was the signal that God had called him to be the successor of Elijah. He left the oxen and ran after Elijah, saying, "Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee." Elijah's answer was, "Go back again, for what have I done to thee?" This was not a repulse but a test of faith. Elisha must count the cost and decide for himself to accept or reject the call. If his desires clung to his home and its advantages, he was at liberty to remain there. But Elisha understood the meaning of the call; he knew it was from God and did not hesitate to obey. From that moment on, Elisha made a clear-cut decision to travel light and follow God.

The Disciples' Journey

Several hundred years later, Jesus Christ saw two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew, casting a net into the Sea of Galilee. Reading now from the fourth chapter of Matthew: "Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him." These men, as well as the others who soon thereafter became disciples, made the decision to follow Jesus wherever He led, even though it meant traveling light. They left behind their chosen vocation, their families, and their warm, cozy homes to follow the Son of Man, who had nowhere to lay His head.

Jesus' Call to Travel Light

In the Gospel of Luke, the 14th chapter, Jesus said this: "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." To roughly paraphrase Christ's words into modern vernacular, He was saying, "If you want to follow Me, you must be willing to travel light."

Have you ever taken a trip and, upon arriving at your destination, discovered to your horror and consternation that you have left something vitally important behind? You thought you had done a thorough and meticulous job of packing your suitcase. You had made a mental, if not an actual, list of must-have items, but somehow, in spite of all that planning, you simply forgot to pack an absolutely indispensable item. Have you done that? Well, I have some really good news for you: when you decide to pack lightly and follow Jesus, you will never regret what you left behind.

You Can't Take It With You

Now, you've all heard this saying, haven't you? "You can't take it with you." We've heard that, and we've probably said it. But just what exactly is the "it" that we can't take with us? Well, for starters, we can't take any of those worldly treasures that we so voraciously lust after and diligently acquire through a lifetime of labor, dealing, and inheriting. None of those things will make the trip. None of them.

Let's read a familiar story from the biblical accounts of Jesus's earthly ministry. It says:

"Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?' So Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and your mother.' And he answered and said to Him, 'Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.' Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.' But he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."

The True Freedom in Traveling Light

In "The Desire of Ages," Ellen White writes: "Christ read the ruler's heart. Only one thing he lacked, but that was a vital principle.

He needed the love of God in the soul. This lack, unless supplied, would prove fatal to him. His whole nature would become corrupted by indulgence; selfishness would strengthen. That he might receive the love of God, his supreme love of self must be surrendered. Christ gave this man a test.

He called upon him to choose between the heavenly treasure and worldly greatness. The heavenly treasure was assured him if he would follow Christ, but self must yield. His will must be given into Christ's control. The very holiness of God was offered to the young man. He had the privilege of becoming a son of God, a co-heir with Christ to the heavenly treasure, but he must take up the cross and follow the Savior in the path of self-denial.

Christ's words to the ruler were the invitation, 'Choose you this day whom you will serve' (Joshua 24:15)."

The Freedom Found in Truth

In the eighth chapter of John, Jesus made this landmark pronouncement:

"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

What would that kind of freedom look like? What will it feel like?

From a spiritual perspective, we will be free to travel light, relying solely on the truth found in God's word, without the cumbersome baggage of man-made traditions and the heavy burden of arbitrary rules and regulations. We will be free of organized pride, control, and selfishness. As a result, our witness to others will be a pure and spontaneous expression of the love we have for Jesus, rather than a forced and scripted sales pitch.

The Promise of a New Home

Listen to these wonderful words from our Lord Jesus:

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus, our Creator, our Savior, our perfect example, left His home, His Father, His adoring angels, and His sinless, perfect environment to rescue His lost, dearly loved children. When He did that, He traveled light. His only need was His vital connection with His Father.

Now, He's about ready to come and get His children to take us to our wonderful new forever home. We won't have to pack, and we won't have to pack ever again. It's a big move, a big trip, but we don't need bigger luggage. We don't need luggage with more pockets and compartments. We don't need to practice our packing technique to take more stuff with us.

Jesus is asking us to get ready for this wonderful journey by learning to travel light. Jesus is asking us to let go of this old world and all its accumulated clutter—all those must-have and got-to-keep items. Once we are home, I mean really home, we won't miss any of it.

If you enjoyed this post, please watch the full video here: Traveling Light