For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ez 18:32)
Would you say that turning takes effort. It’s not the same as staying straight, continuing in the same way (or is it?).
When we turn either by allowing our internal compass to be shifted or by turning our external behavior into something more fruitful… are we making a conscious effort to do something different?
Have you ever been there? Where either you were asked, or you told someone that you loved that you would at least make a conscious effort to do something?
Do this exercise with someone you know.
Hold your pointer finger and your thumb tightly together and have the other person try to pull them apart as you say the words:
“I love [fill in blank with someone you love].”
Now have them do it again while you say:
“I will TRY to love [fill in blank]”
What happened? Come back to this post and leave a comment below about it…. no, really!…
What will happen is in the sentence with the word “try” in it, your fingers will not be able to withstand, they should pull apart, despite your best efforts to keep them shut.
What does this mean? Our best effort, our conscious trying is simply not enough. It indicates that it takes more that trying.
So what does it take to turn and live? Well, one might ask “what does it take to eat?” And we could in both cases say it takes the same thing. I mean assuming that we have an appetite… it really just takes eating. For turning, it really just takes turning.
With eating we don’t even have to really think about it. It’s something our bodies are conditioned to do. That’s how easy it is! When we’re hungry, before we even get to hunger sometimes, we’ve already made up our minds about eating… it’s just crazy!
Let’s imagine however, this craziness, for a moment…. and how different life would be if we were conditioned in the same way to “turn.” If it were as easy to turn as it is to eat. Are you imagining?… That’s it….
Awesome!
Sharing is freedom. Share this post with someone you know and share your experience!
