A Green Flowered Bag in a Black Suitcase World


I was waiting for my luggage at the airport day before yesterday and I made an interesting observation: I think about ninety percent of travelers have black luggage. If you have a black suitcase on wheels, forget about just reaching out, grabbing it off the belt and rolling on your way. Just try it and you could very possibly get mugged by a dozen or so other black-luggage-lugging passengers. I had to take my husband's black luggage on a trip one time, and I lost two nails in a bad black suitcase scene. I think I still have a couple of emotional scars from that one. Talk about emotional baggage.

It was actually pretty funny when I watched it this week. Tons of luggage was sliding down to the carousel and every time the crowd spotted a black, wheeled bag coming down the pike, the entire mob leaned in. As the bag got closer, they would all circle around it. It could've been a dance number in a bad movie. Three or four would reach for it to try to check the tags. Then there were several awkward smiles. And then for that one person (who had probably already reached for the wrong bag a good dozen times), it would be sort of like when you guess the right price from contestant’s row and get to go up on stage with Bob Barker (I haven't adjusted to Drew Carey yet). "I won! It's mine!" I think I even saw a couple of those bag winners shoot some "neener, neener" looks to the other chumps who'd been vying for the same luggage.

I felt sorriest for the people who wrestled a big black bag off the carousel and onto still ground, only to check the tags and find it wasn't theirs. Embarrassing. Not only embarrassing, but a lot of work. They had to wrestle the monster back onto the moving belt, all while trying to wear an innocent look so everyone would know they weren't trying to make off with someone else's black bag.

This time I got to simply stand back and observe. Why? Because my luggage is green. Not just green, but green with flowers. And if that's not distinctive enough, I've tied a white scarf in a giant white bow around the handle. I can identify my luggage before it's even all the way down the chute. Never a doubt. I always know when mine is coming.

Jesus knows us that way. He can see us coming. How glorious to be assured that we are identified as his. And not only are we his, but he is ours.

The Bible tells us that everyone who is born of God wins. 1 John 5:4 says, "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (NIV).

There's a lot of dark stuff in this world. But for those of us who've by faith given our lives to Christ, there's a bright and shining victory--brighter than the brightest green luggage and more distinctive than any white bow. You can say, "I won! Victory is mine! Eternity is mine! Joy is mine! JESUS is mine!" There's a lot of joy in becoming a green-flowered bag in a black suitcase world.

So go ahead. Check the name tag. If you're his, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. It's all settled. Never a doubt. The suitcase is yours. And this is actually a good time to be left holding the bag.

Rhonda Rhea rrhea@juno.com

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