There’s nothing more precious, when in a foreign country,
than one’s passport. I’ve done enough traveling to know this. Not only do I carry my passport close to my
heart (in a little pouch) when I travel,
so as to not lay it down, lose it, or have it stolen, but I carry extra copies
of the first page of my passport with me at all times. My passport is the most reliable and valid
source of identification I possess. Not only does it allow me to enter another
country successfully; but, I can’t leave without it…and, could I, perchance, get out,
it would be difficult to re-enter my home-country. My passport also gives me
legal immunity when I travel, and protection from my government in case of any
emergency. So, I hold tightly to that baby EvErY tRiP!
As I type this above paragraph, I’ll never forget being in
Nairobi one evening with my husband, after a full day of shopping. We’d just
had dinner, and were heading back to our car, when we heard a blood-curdling
scream, and some shouts. A man was running as fast as his legs could carry him,
another was chasing and yelling for help, while a woman stood frozen in place
(except the escape of air from her lungs through her mouth at loud
volume). It was a classic case of what
happens when tragedy hits: some freeze, some flee, some fight back. We were
closest to the woman, and went directly to her aid. The young man fleeing had
just stolen her bag (complete with all her travel documentation, money, and
items purchased that day in the market). Her husband was trying to chase him
down. However, the younger national knew the city streets and alleyways like
the back of his hand, and was faster, so got away readily. By the time, hubby
returned, the wife had melted into a puddle of tears, and little could be done
to soothe her. She was in a true
predicament. Taking her to the local police would do no good. The best thing
she could do at that point was contact her local embassy (she was British), and
hope that they could rapidly re-produce her passport, so she’d be able to get back
out of the country. Otherwise, they were stuck, until the first passport could
be cancelled, and she could be re-issued a new one. Regardless, they were in for a miserable wait, while the whole process was sorted! By the time we left the couple at their
hotel, I had determined I would never treat my passport casually – EVER! It really
didn’t matter about the money, or the goods purchased; but losing a passport
was nothing short of finding yourself on a stage in front of a large audience, naked.
All that, to say this – right in
the middle of the book I finished a while back (& referenced multiple times),
A Loving Life, there is a chapter
titled “Love Burns Its Passport.” As I
read the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz through the eyes of this author, and
discover what a Jesus-Kind-of-Love looks like through the character of Ruth, it
comes to my attention that Ruth did exactly that as she showed love to Naomi.
When Ruth agreed to follow Naomi back to Israel, leaving her home country, and
her family, in essence she "burned her passport."
She said, “Where you go, I will go…your people
will be my people…where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.” Ruth made that commitment. What kind of love
does that at all costs? It’s UNCOMMON! It's not ordinary! It makes no sense!
With my background regarding passports, and Peter’s
admonition (see the following), I have wrestled with this concept that LOVE
BURNS ITS PASSPORT:
“You are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you
out of darkness into His marvelous light…Beloved, I urge you as aliens and
strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul &
keep your behavior excellent…(1 Peter 2:9, 11, 12a)”
Peter seems to be reminding us that our “passport” isn’t of
this world; it’s from another country, a heavenly one. He seems to say, “Don’t
lose your passport!” Not true, though, as I carefully examine in context. What
he’s really telling me is that I’m to always remember my heavenly home for
future reference, to help me persevere through trials, and to challenge my
lifestyle in light of my calling right here where God has placed me…among my Naomi, or Naomis, in another country that’s not my home. However, I really am to burn my passport. I’m to live fully where I am, loving
even those who are hard to love (Naomi wasn’t easy on Ruth; in fact, she often
treated her like chopped liver…), and I’m to live out of a higher calling that
reveals the Jesus-life & a Jesus-Kind-of-Love through me. Love is just that
UNCOMMON. Love NEVER does the sensical-thing. Love is almost always extraordinary! No matter how one is treated, Love Commits. Love is all in! Love never looks back. Love never wonders, "What if I had..." That’s the lesson of burning one’s passport.
Now, then, I won’t literally burn my passport…but
spiritually speaking, I’m willing to be willing…
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