“Do you have your exit buddy?” A classic quote from a classic movie! Or, at least, I consider it to be a classic movie. If you don’t know what I am referring to, I recommend you sit down immediately and watch Finding Nemo. Now, since it was not my intention to write a review about the movie, I guess I better move on to the point of this post.
“Do you have your exit buddy?” My sister asked me this in jest one day while wandering around the building of our hometown church. We had gone that day to pick out and practice an instrumental piece for the special music portion of the upcoming Easter service. She and I have been church mice since the day we were born, blessed to be members of our church our whole lives. As such, we’ve been in the building by ourselves many times in the past and are used to its quirky creaks and squeaks as the building settles over time. This one Saturday, though, we thought we heard someone rustling around downstairs near the library. Being the fine and brave detectives we are, we decided to grab some pepper spray and frosted mini wheats (I rarely venture anywhere without bringing a snack) and head downstairs to see who could be there.
Please don’t come at me now with logic. In hindsight, I know that it wasn’t the wisest decision ever made, but at the time we really didn’t feel there was much danger. We confidently marched down the back stairwell asking the intruder to please make himself known so we could go about picking a song for the Easter service. There was, of course, no response. As we ventured closer to the library, though, we heard the distinct sound of a door shutting. Now, mind you, the church building creaks, but it does not have the ability to close its own doors without the assistance of a human being. Taking this into consideration, my sister and I concluded that it was time to head back upstairs and figure out what to do next. It was the quandary of the century (for us).
Do we stay or do we go? I know. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? Well, for Alyssa, it wasn’t. She plays the cello, which, while arguably close to the size of her, is still relatively portable. I, on the other hand, am a lazy pianist who never brings her instrument with her anywhere. We were stuck. Do we stay and practice? Do we leave? Do we call the pastor? Do we call the cops? Do we sit down and eat mini wheats and ignore that there’s a problem?
It was at this point that my sister pointed out she needed to go back downstairs for something and that we should use the buddy system for the short errand. Jokingly, she asked me, “Do you have your exit buddy?” To which, I responded, “Do you have your exit buddy…for life?” We burst into a fit of laughter and, after a couple more minutes of pondering the meaning of life and next steps, we decided to go call our pastor and wait in the car until he arrived to check the building for intruders. He arrived shortly thereafter, checked the building, and deemed it safe for me and my sister to occupy while we practiced. I guess the world will never know if a stranger had been in the building or if our church building has the miraculous ability to shut its own doors. Maybe we’ll find out the answer in heaven someday.
I had documented this entire experience by video on my phone for my best friends as I knew they would appreciate tagging along virtually on our little escapade. I sat down to watch the video the other day, and that one phrase struck me. “Do you have your exit buddy…for life?” This question can be taken in two ways. The first is that my sister and I came into this world together and, if we have any say in it (which, of course we do not), we’d prefer to leave the world together as we can’t imagine life without each other. We are, after all, twins. We joke about how annoying it is when people ask if we’re the same person, but in a way, I think we are. We are two distinct individuals who fit together like two perfect jigsaw puzzle pieces to form the ideal friendship. It’s a relationship so deep and intricate that I think only twins can fully understand it.
The second way it can be taken is much more serious. Yes, I love my sister and can’t bear the thought of us being separated by death. However, there is a much better exit buddy one can have than a twin. And that is Jesus Christ. Our amusing and, arguably, foolish adventure the other day could have ended in disaster if we had encountered an intruder in the building who intended me and her harm. And in that moment, we would have been more grateful to have Jesus Christ in our lives than each other.
You see, Jesus Christ has promised that when we pass on from this life, we will join Him for all of eternity. That’s the hope of Easter. We often focus on the nails in His hands and feet, the crown of thorns on His head, and the pain of dying on a cross. While all of that was a part of His sacrifice for us, it was not the most grueling part and it’s not ultimately what Christ was saving us from. He saved us from having God the Father turn His face away from us. When Christ became sin for us, our eternal Savior, who had never been separated from God the Father, took on that pain of separation for us. He bore the Father’s righteous wrath so we wouldn’t have to. The eternal separation we would rightfully have because of our sin was taken on by Christ so that we could one day enter the presence of God the Father and have Him see His Son’s sacrifice instead of the ugly stain of our unrighteousness. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) When my day comes to leave this life and enter into eternity, I will have the peace of knowing where I will be when my eyes open once again because I had my exit buddy…for life.
How about you? Do you have your exit buddy? There’s really only one worth having. Only one who can save you from eternal separation from God the Father in hell. Yes, I know it’s the 21st century and no one likes to acknowledge that place exists anymore. But whether you acknowledge it or not does not change the fact that you will spend eternity there if you do not accept the gift that Christ offered on Good Friday when He took your sin and your separation from the Father on Himself. Do you have your exit buddy?
“…We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20b-21
