The Bare Necessities

Necessity: 

a thing that a person must have in order to survive. (Webster Dictionary)

I think everyone has their own definition for the word necessity. I know I do. And it's very different from my husband's definition. When we pack for trips, it becomes obvious. 

He'll say, "Pack just the necessities." With which I respond, "Of course. Just the necessities." Then we each get packing. When he's done, he comes out with one small suitcase on wheels and his wallet. I come out looking like one of those scenes in movies with the caravan of camels and supplies ready to trek across great lands. He looks at me and says, "Just the necessities." With which I respond (with a smile), "Of course. Just the necessities."

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In life, many of us have a hard time knowing what we really need and what we don't really need. Maybe it's because our culture tells us that we need this and we need that, and we also need that and also this to make us happy and successful in life.  So we pack our lives to the brim with 'just the necessities.' 

I don't think Jesus condemns our busy lifestyles. But He does like to get to the heart of things with us, doesn't He. (It's His specialty!) And He's so happy to give His take on things if we lend him our ear. I wonder then in this case, what His thoughts are on the definition of necessity...

This morning, the story or Martha and Mary come to mind. The two sisters who had very different ideas of what was important in the moment when Jesus came for a visit. Martha's definition of necessity was very different from Mary's. Both had beautiful intentions, but Jesus helped them sort through the 'necessities' by saying, "Only one thing is needed." Intimacy with Jesus will always trump anything else we do for Him. That's a bare necessity.

I also think about the parable of the lost son. He ran off with his inheritance to gain the world, but forfeited his own soul. His got caught up in what many of us in today's world get caught up in: running after what we think we need, even to the detriment of our relationship with our heavenly Father.  Thankfully, the parable ends well and the son comes back to the Father when He realizes that gaining the whole world is not a bare necessity, but being in relationship with His father is.

So today's question(s) is this: 

What is your definition of necessity in life? Do you tend to "over pack"? Does your 'suitcase' look like mine when I'm packing for a trip? Or have you learned to travel light like my husband? 

Today might be a good day to pull everything out of your suitcase and lay them out before the Father. Ask Him, "What do you think of this? Is this a necessity? Or how about this..." God knows what you need and what can be pulled out of your luggage. And more than anything else, He'll help you keep the main thing the main thing. I can tell you this: If there's no room for Jesus in your suitcase, you'll want to reassess. Jesus is a bare necessity... in fact, He's the only necessity.

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As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬-‭42‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.10.38-42.NLT

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ 

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ 

“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ 

“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’

‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭11‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.15.11-32.NLT

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”

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Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.16.26.NLT