What We Need Is Here

God did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Romans 8:32

My wife and I love the TV Show "Friends." While we were in High School and college, it was all the rage. Weekly, we would tune in to see Joey's latest bone-headed move, Phoebe's next strange song, and Ross' next relationship faux-pas. (If you have no idea what I am talking about all the episodes are Netflix. If you start binge-watching now, you can zone out and it will carry you until the election is over!)

The episode that's in my mind this morning finds Joey, the struggling B-rate actor, starring in a commercial for the "Milk Master 2000," a "revolutionary" new product that makes opening milk cartons easier. It's hilarious because it takes the typical pattern of a commercial to the extreme.

It begins with the cheezy host naming the problem: "Folks, this ever happen to you? You go to the refrigerator to get a nice glass of milk, but these darn cartons are so flingin' flangin' hard to open!" Joey fumbles with a carton, finally tearing it down the side and spilling milk everywhere. Exasperated, he says, "Ugh! There's got to be a better way!"

Not only does this make me laugh, it is on my mind this morning because that phrase, "there's got to be a better way!" sums up our consumer-driven economy. The entire system is dependent on us believing one very important thing; that our lives are incomplete, or could somehow be better, if we just had that thing (whatever it is). "There's got to be a better way!" becomes a life mantra for the seasoned consumer.

This works great as an economic foundation. However, it is spiritually poisonous.

Daily, we are shaped as consumers by the ads that surround us. Daily, we are reminded that we DO NOT have enough. And yet, believing that God will provide us with what is truly necessary is a foundation of spiritual health. Being content with what we have is a foundation of emotional health. Constantly believing that there must be something better than this life I have is like building your house on shifting sand.

As I start this day, it is so good for me to read the passage above. God, who loved us deep and fierce enough to show up and take on even the worst parts of being human...won't that same God give us everything else? Everything we truly need? Everything that is necessary for contentment, health, and wholeness?

Yes. God has given me all I need; in the breath that fills my lungs; in the shelter that keeps me from the Fall's advancing cold; in the people who surround me today; in the bread and wine of forgiveness; in the Word of challenge and comfort; what I need is already here.

Today, may that phrase counteract your internal consumer. When you feel yourself dissatisfied with your life, inherently thinking "there got to be a better way," may you be filled with the sense that what you truly need is already here.

PRAYER:
God, help me walk through this day with gratitude. Sensitize me to the blessings I take for granted. Fill me with a sense of your presence and love. Give me the courage to change what needs to be changed, assured you are with me every step of the way. Amen.