I’ve never really been a fan of Warehouse 242’s byline on the website: “We’ll be there in the morning.” It called to mind some sort of indie movie where the main character moves from one sexual relationship to another and finally meets someone who promises to “be there in the morning.”

Until this morning. Until I recognized the analogy isn’t far off. In fact, it’s the story of humanity’s demise—a groundhog’s day story of barreling past the truth in search of, oh, how to begin this list…money, power, fame, sex, a good high, comfort, satisfaction…dare I go on?

And so, until I heard the truth in that comparison, I didn’t hear the promise. To say, “we’ll be there in the morning” is a promise of community. That promise wasn’t our idea. In fact, on a very solitary level, God promises the same to us. He promises to be present in our lives through his Spirit. Unless we’re running around like the character in my imaginary (?) film, chasing satisfaction here, lunging after comfort there.

What do you chase after?
Consider reading the book of Hosea this week. Don’t feel as if you have to figure something out or have some epiphany over its meaning. Just read.

If, as Einstein is so often quoted as saying, the “definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” then may I humbly suggest we’re all a bit insane? I mean, really—yesterday, I visited the M &M bag too many times, proverbially slapped my empty fingers, and vowed not to do it again. It’s a silly example to be sure—but easier to think about than the other places where I reach again and again for the thing that makes me unhealthy—whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually. And to be fair, all three of those areas can be rolled into one. Again, we’re back to the indie star who sleeps around. What is the tangible fix to this dilemma? Or are we destined to fulfill Einstein’s morbid prophecy?

I don’t need an advanced degree to answer that question; one only needs to observe circumstances surrounding significant change. Those situations where, in dramatic fashion, the space between point A and point B are clearly discernible. He was once obese but just finished a marathon. One year into AA and she hasn’t had a drink. Places where the abstract was pursued with substance. Sometimes I think I underestimate the paradoxical nature of the Gospel. On one hand, salvation requires nothing more than acknowledging our sin and claiming the life Christ offers. But, on the other hand, Jesus compared it to being born again.

What if our view of the world, prior to finding our life in Christ, was so skewed, we need new eyes altogether? What if our understanding was so limited that it was as if we were judging the whole thing by a tiny square inch in the corner? It occurred to me today, while listening to Bruce, that maybe God calls for sexual purity before marriage because giving ourselves away over and over again drives us farther into “cosmic isolation.” God, knowing our tendency to wander, wants to train us to turn to him. His spirit becomes our Teacher, or as it’s often named in the New Testament, our Counselor.

I’ve begun to wonder if we wrongly categorize our lives; I’d like to qualify that statement by adding “sometimes” or “in a way.” But really, I’m beginning to altogether question the idea of a segmented life. Do I really believe I’m only living life in the presence of God when I pray in the mornings? Why is it sometimes such a struggle to engage the moment, or, as Bruce put it, “push when the bitter hits and see what’s more behind that?”

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*Note: If you wish, you can look up this and other Bible passages online at youversion.com
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