Have a laugh, think, and wise-up . . .

This cartoon got me thinking, ruminating actually . . . 

Its humour’s an easy one for me to think on, most of my flights around the country are "no-baggage-check-in's". While overall baggage check-in is down, I observe a high percentage (myself included) travel with their "stuff" with them in back-packs. One’s “on my back carry stuff” gets x-rayed, and examined. But, is it self-examined? Do I know what I’ve bought with me? What’s in the bag on the back is matter for scrutiny; security personnel look at on-screen shapes and patterns, asking occasional questions of us as we repack and move onto our destinations.

We travel with things on us and with us; things visible, and invisible—baggage. The invisible is not merely with us, it’s within us. 

Do we really know what's inside of us in our life-travels? We know there's seen baggage; we've got eyes for that; how do we “see the unseen emotional and attitudinal baggage on our back”? There’s unseen baggage; some of which is not only OK, its necessary and needed for our life-travels. 

Early Christian apostle, Saul of Tarsus’ rumination with the Corinthians connects with my previous paragraph. He was interacting with them on self-knowing and understanding, wisdom; simply, what “God-only-knows” (a common statement of my late mother) through the Spirit’s interactions with our spirits. Try doing some assisted reflective self-knowing—some ruminating . . . 

Hey, when ruminating about me or you, why not “chew-on-a-bullet-or-two”—here’s what the Corinthians* were offered . . .

·         The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.

·         Whoever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself?

o   The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it.

·         God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us.

o   We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions.

·         The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit.

o   There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness.

·         Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion.

·         Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics.

Thot: While there’s often some unnecessary (or unresolved) baggage in our inner selves, most of what we travel with is highly necessary for our life-journey. Don’t just lose your baggage, evaluate and re-engage life through it—Paul infers “what we carry in concert with the Spirit, in fact carries us . . . "

*Bulleted selections have been excerpted from 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (Message Bible)