Someone asked Him (Jesus), “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.” —Luke 13:23-24
Every trip requires some kind of suitcase. The luggage rule: The shorter the stay, the fewer the suitcase number. The longer the stay, the greater the suitcase number. So if you are planning a long trip and preparing a substantial stay, you might believe a lot of packing is necessary. But in Christ, no baggage ever makes it onto the flight. Heaven has no need for the luggage you’ve been dragging aground, lugging around, and keeping you down.
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What accomplishes more.
Live life, not labels. The world often camps on an identity and then crucifies it. Dysfunctional. Disrepair. Distraught. Desperate. Labels libel the truth and lie about our true identity in Christ. They darken the highways and byways that we tread by infusing a sense of loss of the potential that we could have accomplished more, but weren’t secure, sufficient, or strong enough to do so.
But God prefers to illuminate our real identity. He positions us to hold onto hope, handle hurt, and hurdle hardships. The light in jar clays we carry, light it glow. The loss in dark days we bury, let it go. The lessons in hard ways we rally, let it show. We shine sunlight, not shadows. We have a future, not failure. We are a voice, not a victim. We are holders, handlers, and hurdlers in Christ and for Christ. We can accomplish more than our labels declared we could because of Christ.
Labels are derived from from the struggles in our humanity, but they have zero say in our eternity. On earth, they show our weaknesses, but in heaven, they showcase the potential of God to make us more than the labels have confined. A behind the scenes battle is being played out right now to reflect the mighty power of God to the malignant purpose of labels: making our faith small and labels big.
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What makes it through the door.
Labels are luggage that won’t make it through the narrow door. Suitcases that won’t slide through the slender gate. Baggage that’s better left behind. You don’t have to grow old with your labels. They were places of heartache and harm, but God offers healing to overcome what labels tried to overwhelm.
Peel your labels off. Put them away. If there’s a garbage can by the narrow gate, that’s where your labels belong. Permanently.
A caveat to purging labels: The peeling process is painful. It’s like skin work. Getting a tattoo hurts. Getting off a tattoo hurts. Getting a label hurts. Getting rid of a label hurts. But if you don’t discard your labels, they will come to define your journey and defy all that is important to you.
By now, you may have gotten used to labels. Once they are gone, you feel naked. Clothe yourselves then, in the garments of righteousness and a right relationship with God. Then walk up to the narrow gate. They’re calling your boarding group, beloved. Safe travels.
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