Look at all the pretty things

that steal my heart away. I can feel I'm fading.


I ride the bus in to college every morning. Usually, I put on my iPod and am effectively dead to the world for an hour. But today, I started doing something differently. Since I've started college, I haven't had as much time for devotions as I would like. As a result, I decided to bring my Bible on the bus and have my quiet time while riding. It is a good time, since no one pays attention to anything outside of their electronics. The bus is generally silent as a grave.

After I did my devotions and prayers, I turned on one of my favorite bands: Tenth Avenue North. And as I sat there, I got ... well, I'm not sure exactly what I got. Suddenly, an image popped into my head.

Now, if you're a follower of my friend Hannah, you know she wrote an excellent blog post about the song All The Pretty Things. If you haven't read her, you should check her out here.

As I sat on the bus, I looked around me. A lot of people were sleeping, or just shutting their eyes until their stops. There was a beautiful sunrise outside. The sun was brushing the tops of the trees with this golden light,  like how I might brush egg yolk on top of a croissant. It was absolutely gorgeous, and yet no one on the bus had eyes to see it.


We are, we are, we're caught in the in between
Of who we already are and who we are yet to be
And we're looking for love but finding we're still in need
It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep

And we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
'Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

We run we run to finally be set free
But we're fighting fighting for what we've already received

So we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
'Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

We are we are caught in the in between
But we're fighting for what we already have received
We are we are caught in the in between
But we're fighting for what we already have received


Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
'Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me
This is what I saw in that moment. We are all riding on a bus, which winds its way through many neighborhoods, ultimately leading to one destination. We don't open our eyes, because it's just so easy to close them and let stream of life take us where it will. We become complacent - the cushions are just so comfortable. Why get off them and risk exerting ourselves? So we sit, and sleep.

But God isn't content to let us sleep ourselves to Death. He wants us off that bus, running towards Him, not riding away. He opens our eyes, and we get off the bus. But as we run, we pass so many buses heading back to Death, and they all look so appealing. It would be so easy, to just get on one of them, and rest a little bit. It will be alright, we convince ourselves. I'll only rest for a little bit, just to catch my breath. And then I'll start running again.

But God doesn't want us to rest. He doesn't want us to become complacent, distracted. He wants us to fight for "what we already have received." Every time we stop, we go backwards. And every time we get on, it gets that much harder to get back off and keep running.


Are we becoming spiritually obese?