"True That!" - 2

 "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." (John 7:7 KJV)

  "I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church." (Colossians 1:24 NLT) 

 I was reminded of something yesterday that I am pretty sure gets overlooked by so many of us that have busy lives, most of which is focused on just trying to keep up. Sometimes we must just learn how to drown! If you don't know what that means, it is something I have shared on before, but still haven't quite learned to put it into practice myself. 

 If you have ever had any lifeguard training, then you know that the first rule in saving someone from drowning, is to not try to save someone that is out of control and could cause you injury. It is best to let them drown first, and then pull them to shore, safely reviving them. 

 Maybe it might not seem like the right thing to do, but if we are out of control, there is no other option, but to just surrender to whatever might happen! Naturally, that is not what we do; it is not what those around us want us to do; and it is, for the most part, not what we have been trained to do, at least not those of us that have been taught how not to quit. 

 I am super hard-headed; always have been, and most likely always will be! But I would like to think that I am not hard-hearted; at least I try not to be! The problem with that line of thinking, is that our hearts are practically invisible to ourselves; we tend to not notice when they become hard, because it is, in our own minds, the right thing to do. 

 Why do I bring this up, and what does this have to do with anything? I am so sorry for not paying attention to the hurt in those around me, being more focused upon myself! Jesus had many things to do, most of which were things that were planned out centuries prior to His coming to this earth. The time He had for Himself, was mostly spent in prayer, and even then, it wasn't Himself that He concerned Himself with, while He was praying.

 That is the main difference between man and God, besides the fact that God is God, and we are not! God is Good, and we are not! If you had any goodness within you, then you would relax, let yourself drown, and protect that wonderful person that is trying to save your life! 

 Matthew Henry adds a little tidbit to this story, as this was the time in which Jesus sent out seventy of His disciples, two by two, to go out ministering. (Luke 10:1) Besides that, Jesus came to this earth to destroy the works of the devil, which includes the power of sin! Unless we forgot, people love their own sins, even if those sins might hurt those around us.

 Is that connected to any part of this particular story? So much so, it breaks my heart to think about how far I go out of my way to save myself, when I should be more concerned about others...

"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:6-8 NLT)