On
the escape from illuminating lights and sirens,
a suspect outruns his shadow to an office building and locks himself
inside. Armed and dangerous, he takes the bystanders within
hostage on the top floor. And media helicopters eavesdrop on their newest crime
star now pacing back and forth, hugging his
guilt, just wondering how he got here. And suddenly electricity is lost, the gas shuts off, and the phone begins to
ring. On
the other line of that phone is a negotiator. And in a soft voice, this
peacemaker begins to calmly bargain with the suspect deal by deal, hostage by
hostage.
"Hey…"
The suspect insists, "turn the electricity back
on!” "Gimme
a hostage.” The negotiator
counter-demands. "Alright…
w-What about the gas?” "What
about releasing another hostage?” "Uh…Okay.”
"As
long as the door’s opening, are you hungry?” "Yeah." "Is
your appetite
worth two more hostages?” "Yes."
The
slow rhythm of this crime scene couldn't be faster in its non-political speed, however. So negotiations
continue without consequence, while the suspect enjoys the homegrown fruits delivered inside (Galatians 5:22-23). In fact, the suspect gets so distracted with
the success of this give-and-take
formula (James 4:2), that he doesn’t even realize he’s out of hostages until
the sound of mysterious footsteps get louder and louder towards him.
Surprisingly,
there’s a knock on the door (Revelation 3:20). And,
as the suspect prepares to surrender to police, it’s the negotiator who walks
inside completely unarmed (John 14:16). And sitting beside the suspect, the
negotiator declares, "Now that you’re all alone, I want you to finally realize
that you were the real hostage all
along!” Glancing
at his weapon, the suspect replies, "Whatd-ya mean? I’ve been in control from
the very beginning!” "How
many times,” the negotiator smiles, "do I have to tell you the devil’s a liar?”
Leaning in closer to the confused suspect, he explains, "A good chess player makes an opponent feel in control, creating a false sense of security, which becomes a smokescreen and ultimately a checkmate (John 10:10). My friend,
these so-called hostages already inside were trespassers (Romans 6:12)! And true
wisdom sees that you unknowingly held onto them for your safety, while
they held onto you for theirs! As a
matter of fact, you were never even the one the LAW was after (Ephesians 6:12)
(Psalms 66:18)!” "Well,” the suspect challenges, "I must have some power… or you
wouldn’t have been negotiating with me for all those
releases!”
The negotiator smiles and nods at this reasoning replying, "All of the ignorance, all of the bondage, and all the ego you once harbored inside: these are the things you just let go of, and allowed to leave you (Isaiah 58:6)!”