If we’re all slowly poisoning our spirits with repeated, self–justifying sin, then what’s the antidote?

The answer is like the one given by a scuba–diving instructor who was once asked how he could find his way back up to the surface when feelings of disorientation came upon him in the ocean depths. Disorientation can be a problem for those who dive deep, in murky waters — especially at night. No light from above penetrates to those depths. The ocean floor is still far below. The oxygen in the tank is running low, so it’s time to make your way, slowly and carefully, back up to the surface — but which way is up? Scuba divers have drowned, as a result of such spatial disorientation.

The diving instructor’s solution is simple: Follow the bubbles. Feel with your hand for the place where the air bubbles emerge from your diving gear, and note which way the bubbles move. Without fail, the bubbles make their way to the surface. That is the direction you need to start swimming, to life and freedom.

Our hopes, our highest Christian aspirations, are like that. They are the rising bubbles we follow.