At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Hebrews 12:26,27
Remember the last time you moved? We’ve moved seven times. Some of those moves were across the country. Some were a few hours away. Some were down the street. But no matter the distance, they all had some things in common.
Decision. We were living someplace, and we decided it was time to move someplace else.
Choosing. We looked at different apartments and different houses that were in different places.
Planning. We didn’t just wake up one morning and move. We signed contracts and paid money. We carefully packed.
Leaving. For the last time, we closed the door and locked it behind us. We never went back inside again.
Arriving. We drove up to the new place that was now ours. We unlocked the door for the first time and moved in
But this doesn’t tell the whole story. There was one other thing that we did. Each and every time we moved, there was another important step that we took. Or should I say something chose not to take.
Our first move started after we got engaged. Since we were both living at home, we chose an apartment together that I would move into. This would let us slowly start putting our lives together. After our honeymoon, Mary Ann moved in, and we began our life together.
Funny thing about that first move. Even though we no longer lived with our parents, some of our stuff stayed in their homes. We didn’t take everything that was ours. And that same thing happened time after time throughout the years.
With every move, we didn’t take everything we owned. Some things were left behind. We made a decision not to pack something in the moving truck or put it in the car. We decided that there were things that we didn’t need any longer. Things that had outlived their usefulness. Things that we just didn’t want to lug around. Some things were given away or donated. Other things were just thrown away.
Mary Ann came up with a very smart and useful rule for moving. If something was moved to our new place, and then we didn’t use it, why move it again? After all, if we didn’t unpack it the first time, what makes us think that we’ll need it this time? Her wisdom saved us both lots of headaches during our moves.
The same is true with our life with God. There are times when he wants us to move with him to a new way of life. With some of those moves, we need to leave behind something that we’ve been lugging around. They’re only going to weigh us down. Slow us down from walking with him through this life.
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4 NASB
This is where the writer of this letter wants to take the Hebrews. This is also the same place where God wants to take you and me. God will forgive our sins once-and-for-all through Jesus[1]. He gives us his spirit who will be with us forever[2]. He has also given us gifts to empower us to worship and serve him.
But it doesn’t end there. Becoming a child of God and walking with him also means that we need to leave some things behind. We need to abandon the things we did to please ourselves[3]. We need to walk away from what we thought were good works that we’re going to impress God[4].
We need to come to the point that we’re ready to let go of certain things. Things that can’t really help us. Things that are weak. Things that are temporary and just passing. And why? So the things that are strong and going to stay can take their place.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
Revelations 21:1
So, the question is what are the things that God’s nudging us to leave behind? Things to walk away from. To pick up something new, sometimes we need to drop off something that’s just weighing us down. To make room for the next chapter in our lives, we have to turn the page and start again. Is God calling you to move someplace new with him? If yes, are we ready to leave the old life behind?
Noodling Questions
Where do you think God wants you to walk with him to?
How hard is it to leave things behind for you? Why?
Do you look at the future with anticipation and excitement? Explain.
[1] Ephesians 1:7
[2] John 14:16
[3] Galatians 5:19-21
[4] Isaiah 64:6
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