Evaluating Easements
An easement is one of those legal details in life that we don’t think about until it’s a problem. For example, in most cities, if you have a sidewalk in front of your house, even if there is grass between it and the street, it is your responsibility to take care of, but the city has full rights to trespass. If they decide to do utility work of any kind, they can dig it up when they want. Letting you know isn’t asking permission, it’s just a courtesy. Why? They have an easement.
If you buy property behind anyone else’s, the owners between you and the road need to grant you an easement in which to drive to get to your property. It can be a really tricky and sticky detail when you own property.
Easements are all about allowance of access.
In the spiritual and emotional realm, we both grant and deny easements all the time. We make the decision to allow someone access to us—our hearts, minds, even our bodies. Or not.
People who are hurt, insecure, and closed off grant few easements, while very open, or maybe just carefree, people sign off on many.
Our words and deeds express our easement availability. Even our body language and facial expressions communicate access to our personal easements.
Phrases such as, “Hey, call me anytime, here’s my number” or “I’d be glad to help out. When do you need me?” all communicate openness to create an easement for someone.
Unreturned calls, texts, and emails are a clear sign of no easement available. Enough said.
To be clear, easements and boundaries are two very different things. We must all have boundaries in some relationships. But if we find ourselves in the place of allowing no one easements, yet expecting others to grant them to us as needed, it’s time to re-evaluate our spiritual health and hand life back over to Jesus.
Consider these easements Jesus granted and requested to minister to people …
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” —Luke 19:5 NIV
So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. … Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” —John 4:3-4, 6-7 NIV
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. … As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. —Luke 24:13, 15 NIV
Today, consider your own easements—the ones you allow and the ones you won’t. Who gets to determine those in your life … you or Jesus?