The Knot part 1
I'm sure you've heard the saying, "If you're at the end of your rope... tie a knot in it and hold on!" (And if you've never heard it before, you have now) I think that's good advice. Sometimes if you go down swining you won't go down at all. The only true failure is failure to get up and try again. Look at Romans 10:11-13 in the NLT, "As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced." Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For "Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved."" I wanted verse 13, but I included the other two because I think they help me make my point. When we're talking about salvation here, I don't necessarily think we're talking about an afterlife. And if you listen to my podcast, you know how I feel about that anyway. What I think we're talking about here is being saved from hell on earth, and experiencing heaven on earth. We all have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. Everyone who calls on Him will be saved. By that generous giving. For the God so loved the world He gave. And what did He generously give? His only begotten Son. Why? So that we might believe, and not perish, and have everlasting LIFE. If we're talking about a LIFE that doesn't end, how can we be talking about AFTERlife? But I digress. My point is, while I don't think you should use God ONLY as a "break glass in case of emergency" last resort--I think He should be first choice not last chance--if you get to the point where you need to be saved from something... break the glass! Call on the name of the Lord! Hold on to Him. Cling fast to the Rock and see that when you do, you will not be shaken. You will be able to withstand... anything. Everything. You'll be able to sleep in the boat while the wind and the waves ravage and rage. And then, if someone else is upset by the storm, you can speak a Word (Jesus, love) and command the storm to be still. You can be a thermostat and set the temperature instead of only being a thermometer who takes the temperature. The fire in you is always hotter than the fire you're in. Always. Because God is a consuming fire. He consumes everything else but is not consumed Himself. So that once you are utterly consumed... the only thing left is God. The only thing left... is love! The "rope" that we're haging onto... the name that we call upon in order to be saved... is Jesus. God. LOVE! And, as we're going to see in this Rant series, even though we think it's our job or our responsibility to hang on to Him... really He is hanging on to us! Holding us in His hands. Guarding us. Sheltering us. Leading us, guiding us, directing us, and protecting us. So we don't have to worry about getting to the end of our rope. We don't have to worry about hanging onto a knot and trying not to let go. The knot is what happened when God tied the rope around us! What I'm trying to say with all this imagery and cool language is that nothing can seperate us from the love of God. Nothing. Nothing we've done, or will do, or could do. Because love isn't about what you've done or what you're going to do. Love is about earning it or deserving it. Love is about who you are. And who God is. A Father who loves His Son(s). That's our Rock. That's our foundation. That's what we were created for. And that's what we're capable of. So shift your mindset and your thinking. Hold on to Him, yes, but never doubt that He is holding on to you and will never ever let you go!