This is my personal “Year of Jubilee.” The concept comes from Leviticus 25, where the children of Israel are instructed to make every 50th year a Year of Jubilee. A hallmark of the biblical Year of Jubilee is a returning of things to their rightful owner. Land which may have been sold reverted to it’s original owner. Indentured servants who had to sell themselves as laborers to repay debts were freed. In this holy redemption year even the land was allowed to rest.
I turned 49 in September and therefore I am in the midst of my 50th year now, my Year of Jubilee. While scripture does not discuss a personal Jubilee, I have thought a lot about it this year and what the principle of Jubilee symbolizes. I think about what it means to rest, to let go of things you love and didn’t want to live without, and to examine the rightful owner of things in my life. I will share more about my Year of Jubilee later; today I want to talk about the way this relates to baggage.
I have shared before my analogy that we are all born with a bag (See blog post #36). The bag is ours alone to carry. It can be light, or it can be heavy depending on what we put inside and how long we carry it around. As we go through life, we make mistakes and also get caught up in the mistakes (sins) of other people. We get angry, sad, hurt, wounded, or worse…and we pack our regrets (see blog post # 39), experiences and feelings (such as wounds, anger, resentment, jealousy, and righteous indignation) in our bag. Some baggage is even our white-knuckled attempt to hold on to wounds for fear that letting go may somehow invalidate our pain.
And we often carry around contents that were never intended to be in our bag, contents which are not ours to own or carry. This is the baggage that needs to be returned to its rightful owner. This is not something most of us know intuitively how to do. We need help and compassion as we learn how to open our bags and do business with God over the stuff we’ve accumulated. While at times difficult, I found this to be an extremely liberating experience.
To that end, I would like to invite you to join me in person for an event where you will meet with God and do business with Him. You will learn what is and what is not your baggage to carry. You will be given the tools to walk away lighter and free, finally. You can learn more about the Finally Free Forgiveness Retreat taking place July 15-16, 2022, by visiting our sister website at OneTen Ministries. (Note: An online version of this powerful training is also in development. Stay tuned for future details.)
Give your soul a Jubilee, a time of returning your baggage to its rightful owner.