Escape Room

It was my oldest daughter’s idea.
She thought it would be a fun way to celebrate her birthday.
She knew that everyone was going to be home.
It just so happened that her birthday occurred during Holy Week this year.

She was hoping that the seven of us could have a family day.
She had the perfect place.
She sent us the link to the place that she suggested.
We each had a chance to give our opinion about her choice.

Everyone was on board.
My husband and I bought the tickets so that everyone could just enjoy themselves.
We all put it on our calendars.
We were set to go on the day before Easter.

The place we went was called the Escape Room.
The whole premise of this interactive game intrigued me.
You had a choice of three different rooms.
You had a choice of three different scenarios.

You have to book your room in advance.
Since we were all on board, it was now a matter of deciding which room we would be in.
My daughter sent us the synopsis of each scenario.
We were all on the same page; we chose the train station.

Escape Room is all about solving a mystery.
You are literally locked in a room in which there are numerous clues that you have to find.
There are props, there are locks that need to be opened, and there are clues everywhere.
The problem is that the clues are not obvious.

The synopsis for our train station room read as follows:
A dear friend has been arrested for bootlegging. You are convinced he is innocent and have the evidence to prove it. Today is the last day of the trial before he is convicted, but you need to get there. You have exactly one hour to get your ticket stamped, catch the correct train and get out of the Lancaster Train Station.

One hour is all the time we had.
One hour when we didn’t even know where to begin.
The clues were all there.
It was just a matter of finding them and putting all the pieces together.

There was a small chalkboard outside the door.
It had a time on it.
38 minutes and 10 seconds.
That was the time to beat.

My son, who is a lawyer, loves a challenge.
He was determined that we would complete our task.
He was determined that we would get out of the train station before that record time.
We didn’t.

It was really helpful that we all knew each other so well.
Each of our personalities and strengths came through.
No two of us are exactly the same.
We each came at the problem from our own unique perspective.

That actually helped us in many ways.
We know how each other thinks.
We trust each other.
We all had a common goal and worked toward it.

Periodically, more clues came in the form of a letter through a mail slot.
The whole time we were in the room, we were on camera.
The people in the other room were watching our progress.
The extra clues come at a time when we needed them most.

My youngest daughter was the note taker and organizer of the clues.
She wrote down the things we discovered and put them in an order we could understand.
My daughter, who is a teacher, moved us along from step to step.
My older son did math calculations that helped us get a crucial clue.

My younger son, quietly and steadily persisted as he tried to open locks around the room.
In many instances he was successful, which helped us gain access to more clues.
My husband, the engineer, saw a pattern that none of us saw.
That pattern was the framework for much of the solution.

I found something early on that helped point us in the right direction.
Each of us played a part.
Each of us had a job to do.
Unfortunately, we never escaped the room in time.

We were so close.
I know that sounds like the fish that got away story.
However, we really were one drawer and one clue away from the solution.
So near, yet so far.

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenant of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:12-18)

We are all here in this world with no way back home to our Heavenly Father.
We cannot get to Him on our own.
We are metaphorically locked here until the day we die.
At that time, either we get out of the room with the correct key or we are locked in.

There are clues to unlock the door.
There is a Key that will open our access to the Father.
Unlike the Escape Room we don’t know the time we have here on earth.
But our time is finite; there is a last day for each of us.

God gave us all the clues we need for our salvation.
The clues are in His Word.
The Holy Spirit helps us to see the clues and put all the pieces together.
When the Holy Spirit quickens our heart and makes it new, the clues will be understood.

The pieces will fit together.
The door from this world to heaven will be unlocked.
The Key is Jesus Himself.
For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Those of us who are far off will be brought near.
However, you must read the clues.
You must find the solution that God spells out in His Word.
That is the only way out of the room of this world and into eternal life in heaven.

We cannot escape the room of this world on our own.
We, who have been far off, have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Through Jesus’ death and Resurrection we have all the answers we need.
We must put our faith in Him and Him alone.

Jesus is the only Way out of the room of this world.
Jesus is the Key that will unlock the door.
Are you far off?
Are you near?

Precious Lord Jesus, unlock the door so that we have true freedom. Salvation is in You alone. Destroy the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. Be our peace. Open the door for us so we can walk through it and spend eternal life with You. We ask in Your precious name, the only name that saves us from our sins.