We've all seen those sappy love stories where the guy is just so into the girl, he knows her every idiosyncrasy and the deep meaning behind each one. Women, especially, long to find that partner who is so perfectly tuned to thoughts and feelings. The husband who recognizes his wife is stressed the minute she heads to the snack cabinet --but doesn't dare respond to it with Didn't you just have a snack? (Note to my male readers: NEVER, I mean NEVER say that!) Do men crave the same intimacy? Maybe a wife who has that "sixth sense" something is wrong. She calls her husband only to have his phone answered by paramedics at the accident scene. He's okay, by the way. Or maybe, men simply appreciate having lemon meringue pie for dessert and a wife who lets him watch football in peace. Either way, close relationships are important; partners who have the ability to and are willing to save us from ourselves. But is there any human being who can anticipate our every need, sense every fear or misgiving? Is there any human being who can always be there to save us from ourselves?
In my struggles with addiction, and in working The Fourth Step (a searching and moral inventory) of a Twelve Step program, I discovered my compulsive behavior came in part because I wanted so desperately to be seen. I wanted someone --anyone --to notice my brokenness and save me from it all. A fearsome warrior bearing me away on his horse, carrying me far from my past and my pain; making all things new. I needed to be rescued. Even from myself. But how to change? How to get saved? If I couldn't help myself, there had to be someone out there who could. My husband? My children? I craved validation and sympathy; I thought someday I'd have enough to make the hurt stop hurting. If I could find just the right person... The unfair and unrealistic expectations I'd placed on those around me took their toll, and relationships suffered. And while I acknowledge it is important we have those in our lives who know us well, who seek to understand us and build intimacy, the level of difficulty involved in saving someone from themselves can be mastered by only One. Yes, those closest to us can act as vessels for God's wisdom and comfort; they can hold us to account and answer the phone in our hour of deepest need. But the saving, the renewal, the rebirth can only be the work of One. And here is the unspeakable hope: He completes our salvation!
At Creation, God made His will clearly known. No pain, no toil, no separation from Him, no self-awareness, no hierarchy within humanity, no unmet intimacy, no sickness unto death. Did man's fall alter God's infinite will? Of course not! His will is still as it was then, but sin is the barrier; the Fall of Man has its consequences. There are conditions in this world from which God will save us. How many times have you recovered from a cold? How many times has someone who has hurt you offered a sincere apology? How many times have you slammed on your brakes just in time? There are also conditions He will use. The courageous battle of a loved one with ALS and the gift of time you were given to sit with them. The accident that required a CT scan, a CT scan that revealed a tumor growing unperceived. The season of poverty that drew you to His presence again and again throughout each day. And there are conditions which may cause us to think healing and peace are not His will. But certainly they are! His Word assures us! Read Psalm 37 and count the number of times He promises good things for those who humbly obey Him.
However, we are seeing the completion of our salvation from a tiny, tiny window, from a dot on the timeline of all eternity. In order for our salvation to be made perfect, other things must first occur. Yes, He can and will save us from ourselves, from our addictions, our past hurts, our offenses and misguidedness, our character flaws, even our financial poverty and our diseases. But His timing is perfect; and while we may wonder why He doesn't immediately restore the relationship with our parents or say a word and open blind eyes or make the law firm hire us, He does nothing in part. He will save us from ourselves in full! He knows us better than we know ourselves --intimacy --but it is an intimacy that, coupled with His perfection sometimes baffles us and frustrates us. We don't always know what events must occur before the need is met. We don't always know why the winter is so long. But be assured, He is working in full to save us from ourselves, a self of which we may be completely unaware, but a self He knows intimately.
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