Out is Through

As I have listened to Alanis Morissette's new album, I am convinced this woman is a prophetess for our time. Or maybe just for me. In any case, she speaks a solid truth about every two seconds in her songs.

I have been enjoying nearly every song on the album (So-Called Chaos). One that has spoken directly to my heart (besides the one mentioned below called Everything) is the second song on the album called Out is Through.

It speaks of our ease with bailing in the hard times. And I wonder if that is me. I grew up in a family that demanded that we finish what we start. And so we usually do. But I see this pattern of short lived commitment all around me. As soon as things get a bit difficult, people take the next flight to elsewhere.

I have felt this tendency inside myself in this new relationship of mine. I am convinced this impulse is not from the Father but instead is a temptation of ease. I also notice it at Horizon Church. The leadership is well aware of the few people that will stick with it through thick and thin. And for these people we are extremely grateful. It is upon these people that the church will be built.

Alanis assures herself and her audience that "The only way out is through." And the more I listen to the voice of God, the more I agree. It was true for Jesus. His way back to the Father was through the cross. I am convinced more now than ever that I am a part of a generation of sprinters who get annoyed with any notion of marathon. Our anthem is "The only way out is....oh wait, there are a lot of ways to get out of this." We are a generation of quick-fix and immediacy. And I am the chief of sinners.