Escape Hatch part 5
Let me drop my memory verse first, which is not my favorite thing to do, but I think in this case we need to know what the Scripture says so I can build off of it. "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto him, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Whatever God expects FROM us He first provides TO us. That is the Divine Order of things. That is, in fact, even what the New Commandment says. Love one another as Jesus has loved you. Simply receive it and release it. Breathe it in and breathe it out. So when we're talking about this escape hatch--this ability to get through whatever we have to go through--I think it's important that we look at it from a slightly bigger point of view than just ourselves. Yesterday I said something along the lines of, "We are saved by saving each other." Because giving what you've got is how you experience what you've got. God reconciled us... and gave us the word of reconciliation. Not imputing our trespasses against us. Which gives us the key to reconciling ourselves to each other--don't impute trespasses! And, as you know, I'm a big proponent of turning the other cheek... but also of not standing there and letting someone slap you over and over and over. Don't retalitate. Don't think you need to punish them. Just shrug your shoulders and move on. You're not for everyone. And that's ok. Get in where you fit in. And when you CAN help someone... do it. When you CAN make someone smile... do it. Because the world needs more of that. Now watch this, as I try to put a nice, neat bow on this Rant series: We're all in this together, right? So when I help you "escape," or endure something... that's how I experience my own escape. Because, as the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. I can't fully experience the gift of love without sharing it. Because love is giving. And you can't give what you don't have. You can only give what you do have. And you can't give without someone to give to. So loving someone isn't about getting anything. It's about giving THEM everything. Giving them the help, and the hope, that they need. Because you have it. Because God--probably in the form of someone in your life--gave it to you. So just pay it forward. Give what you've got. Let what's inside come out. And in that way experience what's inside on a whole different level. The tide raises all ships. Success for one can, and should, and ought to be, success for all. You don't have to diminish someone else in order to shine. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far... go together. When we think of escaping, I think we go to a place of hiding. Of solitude. But true escape is, again, endurance. And it is so much easier to endure something when you have someone in the fox hole with you. When you know someone has your back. When you can work together. That's when the load gets lighter. More easy to bear. That's when we can start to enjoy the ride instead of just struggling through each and every mile of the journey. Things work out better when we work together. You can do this. And you don't have to do it alone!