“You are Godly people,” said our pastor friend during a goodbye visit. His words took me by surprise. Our conversation had started with me trying to give him my tin collection. “Yes, they are all empty tins, some old, others pretty and mostly sentimental. Most of them we gathered on road trips,” I explained.

“They are pretty, but we cannot take them to heaven,” he replied. Our conversation continued.

Godly people—the thought kept coming back to me the rest of the week. What does it mean to be a Godly person? “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness’” (2 Tim. 2:19). What is iniquity? “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’ then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law” (Jer. 16:10, 11).

Do we unknowingly follow other gods or break the commandments of God? There are many things that cannot fit into a 60 lb. suitcase, and I thank God daily for preparing us for heaven. No, the empty tins can’t come with us. God wants obedience and loyalty—things that cannot be put into empty tins or suitcases. Praise Him for His omnipotence!

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