Around the time of Passover this year I commented on how the Lord, through my family's walk with Him, had illustrated how we should separate our true treasures from the corruption of the world. Now, as we look forward to Sukkot, I find God is prompting our thinking again.

A few days ago my wife Barbi was talking to me about the comparison of lifestyle we have between the two places we live during the year.

On the one hand we spend a third of the year living in our large towing caravan. It has an extremely neat, compact galley; it is open plan with a lounge and my studio, plus a separate bedroom and shower room. Storage space is cleverly designed to be sufficient with careful planning on our part, for our needs. Discussing the galley, we agreed that even with its compactness, by our choice and locating of equipment and supplies, we know where everything is and can make great meals very efficiently.

On the other hand, we spend two thirds of the year living in our house. It is lovely to come back to and has much more space than the caravan, allowing us the luxury of more of everything. But comparing our kitchen with the galley, preparing meals is at times a relative nightmare, trying to free up workspaces and find all the equipment and ingredients.

Comparing the Two

We have realised that the caravan shoe-horns us nicely into a lifestyle of simple, disciplined orderliness that we have come to appreciate and enjoy, whereas the extra house space, requiring much less discipline, frees us into a comparatively chaotic lifestyle that leaves us quite frustrated at times, yearning for the caravan.

With these thoughts in mind the words from a hymn by John Greenleaf Whitter (1872) came back to me:

And let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace...

God has given instructions for orderliness: God’s Torah (teaching), written on our hearts and minds (Heb 10:16; Jer 31:32). The psalmist says in Psalm 119:165:

Those who love your Torah have great peace; nothing makes them stumble.

So, what am I saying?

For Barbi and me, our caravan illustrates the purpose of Torah: teaching us a disciplined way of living through which we are finding peace and joy - perhaps like a Sukkah, the simple temporary dwelling place for pilgrims in an alien world.

By comparison, our house lifestyle illustrates those parts of our lives still needing to become more disciplined before they will produce their peaceful fruit of righteousness.

What to Do?

Taking advantage of what we have learned in the caravan, we are able to establish a better order in our house, and hence in all of our lives. We will also ask God to show us those areas of disorder elsewhere in our lives, and then strive to bring orderliness to them. In so doing, we aim in all parts of our lives to: “stand firm in union with the Lord” (Phil 4:1).

Is this what God is asking of all His people - to learn to be pilgrims and strangers in an increasingly alien world, as we prepare for the return of Jesus?

Author: John Quinlan