{"id":87417,"date":"2025-06-02T20:24:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T01:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=87417"},"modified":"2025-06-02T20:24:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T01:24:06","slug":"escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/escape\/","title":{"rendered":"Escape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n

Now there’s a word we think more of lately. Remember when many avenues of escapism – dining out, movie-going, etc. – were taken away from us in hopes of mitigating the virus? Our hopes for escape were higher than ever.<\/p>\n

\"\"One way to be transported to a better “place” is through music. Anyone who knows me knows I like hard rock, but lately I’ve been finding escape through the music just before my time, the 50s and early 60s. Not only did our culture seem more innocent then (whether it was is debatable), the music reflected the optimism of the times. Even songs about lost love seem to have a more upbeat rhythm to them. I listen to that stuff and I imagine life in what seems like simpler times, without political savagery, gender confusion, and less hate.<\/p>\n

Yeah, we want to escape.<\/p>\n

That’s where Jesus comes in. He offers a breakaway from all that threatens our well-being in Him. Paul calls it a “rescue from this present evil age<\/em>” in Galatians 1:4. But while Jesus doesn’t take us out <\/b>of this “present evil age<\/em>,” He does rescue us in<\/strong> it. It’s the great transfer between the domain of darkness and the kingdom of light, Paul spoke of in Colossians 1:12-14. We live in the profound tension between the “no longer” and the “not yet.” We live amidst sin and decay while awaiting an existence of eternal blessing and peace.<\/p>\nWhile we long for that day to come when the sorrows, frustrations, and disappointments of this “age” are forever gone, He offers us the grace we need to move and exist in it until He accomplishes the great and final escape.
\nAnd no music from any genre can do that.\n

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen<\/em>” (Galatians 1:3-5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Zeke Flores Now there’s a word we think more of lately. Remember when many avenues of escapism – dining out, movie-going, etc. – were taken away from us in hopes of mitigating the virus? Our hopes for escape were higher than ever. One way to be transported to a better “place” is through music.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1783],"class_list":["post-87417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-escapism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":84422,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/escapism\/","url_meta":{"origin":87417,"position":0},"title":"Escapism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by\" (Psalms 57:1). So much of the world around us revolves around escapism. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56899,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-is-so-hard-to-escape-the-sin-in-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":87417,"position":1},"title":"It is so hard to escape the sin in the world","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello there. I have just gotten back into church again and I have been studying the Bible. Almost everything I watch has cuss words in them. I want to buy a language blocker for all my streaming services. It will block out bad language and nudity. Will that still\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34324,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sin-synonyms\/","url_meta":{"origin":87417,"position":2},"title":"Sin Synonyms","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joan Rieber Sentry Magazine, December 1999 Sometimes reading the scripture in English is like eating diet food, you get volume, but the flavor and texture are lacking. Word studies in the original languages can supply what is missing. The Greek words for 'sin' are especially rich. I am not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22130,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-god-be-loving-if-he-doesnt-let-people-escape-unbearable-situations-through-suicide\/","url_meta":{"origin":87417,"position":3},"title":"How can God be loving if He doesn’t let people escape unbearable situations through suicide?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In\u00a0your sermon on suicide, you state: E.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It brings no comfort to the suffering soul. If one takes their own life, then one's unendurable physical or emotional pain is taken away immediately. If God wishes to punish them for wanting some 'morphine for the soul', then he is not really\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33312,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-messed-up-and-had-sex-with-my-girlfriend-since-then-she-has-been-having-sex-with-several-guys-repeatedly-i-forgive-her-but-how-can-i-help-her\/","url_meta":{"origin":87417,"position":4},"title":"I messed up and had sex with my girlfriend. Since then she has been having sex with several guys repeatedly. I forgive her, but how can I help her?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi. I've read some of your answers and you clearly seem to be someone with much wisdom and knowledge of the word. That's why I'm trusting you with this. I've been in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend for a little over a year now and we've visited each\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59816,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-spiritual-simplicity-of-our-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":87417,"position":5},"title":"The Spiritual Simplicity of Our Singing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Paul Earnhart In the 1940s Elmer T. Clark observed that is \"a peculiar type of mind which is convinced that God is interested in whether his worshipers sing with or without instrumental music\" (Small Sects in America, p. 16). Clark's words carry a twentieth-century bias. The truth is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}