Traveling, especially by air, has become a complicated, detail-encumbered process in recent years. Security issues related to terrorism and safety issues related to the pandemic have driven many to abandon it altogether. In our case, we were going by air, or we weren’t going, so by air we went.
Many things that I enjoyed about traveling when I flew more than a million miles over my business career are no longer part of the experience. I miss being able to say good-bye to someone I love just before I board my flight. I miss being greeted at the gate by someone I know when I arrive. I REALLY miss just having to go through a simple metal detector on my way to the gate. However, one of the things that works better than before (saving time and potential confusion) is what I call “early check-in.” I receive a text and an e-mail from my airline 24 hours before my flight allowing me to check in early and remotely, thereby reserving my seat and eliminating my need to stop at the ticket counter. I already have my boarding pass, and my seat is reserved. I guess it’s the least they can do after all the other hassles travelers must endure. But it also reminds me of something else that I value much, much more.
In the first few verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he refers to a very different journey to a much better destination. In verses 13-14, Paul mentions our “redemption,” referring to that moment when we depart this life, whether by death or translation, and are taken Elsewhere. It’s kind of like the impending air flight I referred to earlier, only a whole lot better. Any destination we may have in this world pales in comparison to heaven, or so I believe.
The early check-in and boarding pass reminded me of what Paul refers to as the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…” We have a boarding pass of sorts because we have checked in (believed). Paul tells us that this deposit is the Holy Spirit – the Lord’s Abiding Presence in our souls. In fact, this particular result of our faith is far greater than some sort of boarding pass for the trip to heaven. God’s Holy Spirit is our taste of heaven here in this life. Eternal life doesn’t begin in heaven (after take-off), it begins the moment we make that choice to believe in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross as payment for our sins. God marks us (even better than our driver’s license!) in a way that changes our very nature, so that our home is no longer here. Our trip to heaven is booked in such a way that it shows here on earth.
This begs a question. Have we taken our opportunity and checked in early? Consider this blog post as your notification that your flight is ready and you can check in any time before that. Now might be a good time. Unlike that airline flight, there’s no airport kiosk to tell us when that trip is scheduled.
And if we’ve checked in, let us live like it. Once we’ve got our boarding pass, no matter what hassles we encounter, whether at the security check-point or in the crowds on the way to the gate, we know our seat is reserved. Let us enjoy the time between now and our flight by encouraging others to check in early, too. Let us life like we have heaven in our souls, because we do. After all, we can definitely use more of heaven wandering around down here before the trip.