The Savior

By Jerome Dechant

Aug. 19, 2012

What is implicit in the concept of a savior?  Obviously the idea that one needs to be saved, secondly that there has to be someone else to do the saving.  Also implied is the idea that one cannot save him or herself, that there has to be some outside intervention to facilitate the being saved.  What if this is true?  What if in order to be saved, I DO need someone else to save me?  That is placing a huge responsibility on someone else because I am dependent on him/her to save me.  What happens if that someone doesn’t show up in time to save me?  What if I were waiting for him/her to arrive so I could be saved in the nick of time?  That means I’m not taking any action on my own to extricate myself from the situation or circumstance in which I need to be saved.  In other words, I’ve been just sitting around waiting to be saved.  What is that?  That is delegating responsibility outside of me for my salvation.  In other words, I have adopted the victim stance/attitude and am at the mercy of external people, places and things; I am powerless with this stance/attitude.

Many people think it is easier to let someone else do it and with many activities in life, that may be appropriate, but when it comes to our own life experiencing and choosing whether we are ultimately saved or not, that is something not advisable to delegate to someone else.  Being saved is something we have to take full responsibility for; we have to own our own salvation because in fully owning it, we do not delegate our power and abilities to someone else, but rather maintain this power and ability within our own realm of being/experiencing.

What is it then that we seek from a savior?  It means we have made choices which led us into a situation and/or circumstances which are not to our liking, and when it comes to being saved, likely to be extreme situations or circumstances where we have already delegated our abilities to others.  We have painted ourselves into a corner.  We have set ourselves up by poor choices.  Our salvation is really learning from our mistakes, not to make the same mistakes again.  The learning not to make the same mistakes again is our part to participate in this.  If we don’t learn from our mistakes and continually paint ourselves into corners, do you really think someone is going to take pity on you for your lack of “getting it?”  I’d say no.  You will have to keep making those same mistakes over and over again until you finally “get it” that you need to make different choices which lead to different, more favorable outcomes.  When you finally do “get it” and make the different choices; that is your salvation.  And what is that the salvation from?  Not the specifics of that situation or circumstance, but rather from the lack of knowing how to deal with the circumstance or situation to get the outcome you desire.  In other words, you step into the light with regard to that situation and or circumstance.  You develop clarity which serves you well in anticipating possible outcomes associated with various choices so that you make choices which lead to the outcomes you desire, and don’t make choices which lead to outcomes you do not desire.

Clarity and wisdom are really the elements of salvation we seek.  That is to say, to see clearly enough to make wise decisions so as not to put ourselves into circumstances and situations where we might be stuck or a victim at the mercy of the situation.  When we come to the fork in the road, to be able to read the signs well enough so that we don’t go down the road where the wolves are waiting to eat us. 

This leads to education.  Education is another of our own empowerment because to the extent that we are educated about life and its circumstances and situations, to that extent we are able to make wise choices which result in the outcomes we desire.  Some education can come from external sources, some needs to be experienced through our own life experiencing.  When we accept these possibilities and embrace them, we move out of the darkness which has us stumbling and wandering aimlessly upon our path of life.

How do we get this clarity?  How do we develop this wisdom?  By living life as it unfolds for us, being present in this unfolding experiencing what life is offering us.  What is it then that life is offering us?  Life is offering ample opportunities to develop our clarity and wisdom.  Each moment that unfolds holds a key to our freedom, or a lock for our bondage.  By our choosing we have the opportunity to develop our discernment.  If we make the wrong choices, as we all must, we go through that path of learning which unfolds for us by the making of that choice.  So even if it seems like it was the wrong path to take, it serves us to the extent that we use what we learn to enable and empower us to know it was the path which showed us an outcome we didn’t like, thereby defining more clearly the outcome we do like.

Ultimately, life unfolds for us perfectly and leads us into the light.  Whether the path to the light is a short one or a long one is determined by our choices and learning from those choices so that we reduce the repetition of making the same choices which do not lead us to the desired outcomes.  Regardless of the choices whether they be deemed to be bad choices or good choices, they all serve us in realizing our own salvation.

Ultimately life is our savior because life enables us to experience clarity and develop wisdom.  If you aren’t realizing clarity and wisdom right now in your life experiencing, this means you are still developing your clarity and wisdom.  Don’t fret about it, just live your life as it unfolds for you, realize it is by your choices that you free or bind yourself.  Letting that both freeing and binding choices serve you is wisdom.