How do I cope with life in the in-between?
by Robert Krumrey
What’s it like to live in the “in-between”? All of us are experiencing this currently. We are somewhere between what was normal life and what will be our post-quarantine life to come. It’s a strange place to linger. It’s hard to get motivated. Hard to believe that what we are doing here and now really matters. The temptation to do nothing and wait until whatever is coming get’s here is really strong. THEN we’ll be able to get serious about life in “the daily”.
There’s another part of us that says that this is NOT the way to spend this time. That we should make the most of this pandemic purgatory. We should play, rest, do push-ups, learn to cross stitch, read Moby Dick. There’s got to be a way to make use of this unspecified time we’ve been given! So we start (and stop) a variety of activities spending more time posting about it than actually fulfilling our noble objectives.
And yet, here we are. Another Monday morning that starts another week of quarantine. I’m not trying to depress you, but I am trying to get you to think about life in the in-between. As Christians we know we are between the life we once knew (life before Jesus) and a life to come. The life to come is going to be amazing. So amazing that it can officially be called perfect. Perfect relationships with God, ourselves, others, and the earth. We long for that day but we do not live in that world. At least not yet. We are in the in-between.
The problem with this cosmic in-between is that while we are saved from the penalty of sin, we are still influenced by it. We are in a constant battle within ourselves over whether or not we are going to “make the best use of our time” or merely keep ourselves amused with whatever seems entertaining at the moment. We tend toward boredom, laziness, even addiction. Life in the in-between time is not neutral It’s a battle. This quarantine seems to have brought this reality to the forefront now more than ever.
So how do we fight this battle?
Recognizing the Need for a Rescue
The Apostle Paul, in Romans 6:1-7:23, does a masterful job of describing the challenges we face living in the in-between. After acknowledging these realities, he directs us to this truth regarding how we should initially approach our predicament:
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Life in the in-between can reveal a lot about a person. I mean, just look at what you are wearing for the fifth day in a row! These struggles within and without are reminders that we can’t think enough positive thoughts and do enough good deeds to save ourselves. We need someone who exists outside the in-between to come down and save us. This is what we just celebrated on Easter Sunday (audio, video). Jesus comes from heaven and drops down into our very messed up world. Just this truth alone would have been pretty amazing, but there’s more to it than that. He came for the central purpose of staging a rescue for those who are willing to admit their need for help. Paul makes this desperate declaration of both his need (“wretched man that I am”) and then his thanksgiving (“Thanks be to God!”) for God’s divine plan for rescue through Jesus. The first thing we need to understand about life in the in-between is that we need a rescue from Jesus. Then and only then can we begin to understand how to thrive in the here and the hereafter.
Battle in the In-Between
Even as Paul heralds the good news of God’s plan for rescue through Jesus, he immediately hints at the battle that will continue to be waged in the lives of those who have experienced saving from “this body of death”. Paul is clear that there will be an ongoing battle in the mind of the Christ follower which will play itself out in the daily. Later in Romans chapter 8, he goes more deeply into what that is to look like:
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Paul describes a very vigorous war to be waged in the thought life of the believer. This battle is not to be waged in order to obtain the gift of the rescue itself, but instead, is something that is an ongoing reality in the lives of those who have been rescued. Those who have been rescued by Jesus are permanently filled with the Holy Spirit and are now living out their daily existence in the in-between by willfully “setting their minds” on the things of the Spirit. These “things of the Spirit” are the gospel. The swinging back to the knowledge of what Christ did for us in his death, burial, and resurrection and the swinging forward to what life will be like in Christ in the new heavens and the new earth. The proof of our past salvation from sin and our guaranteed citizenship in the perfect world to come are both attested to by the resurrection. Paul also points to this in Romans 8 when he writes:
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
The Spirit’s work in you today is a result of Christ saving you from sin AND a taste of your eternal life to come. That Spirit that empowers you today while you sit in your basement making zoom calls is also going to raise you from the dead and give you a new life, an eternal new life. All of this is accomplished through the rescue that Jesus has executed through his death, burial, and resurrection. So this week keep up the fight! Not just the fight to keep fit and productive and not yell at your kids, but the fight to set your mind on what Jesus has done for you at the cross and will do for you when we get past living in the in-between!