Fearless Faith

Waiting for something good

 


It’s hard to wait. If we’re not connected when and where we think we ought to be, then we become selfishly impatient. We’ve come by it honestly through worldwide merchandisers as they ply their trade to the masses. Overnight deliveries are becoming the standard and consistent same day delivery is just around the corner. Anywhere a line forms, the potential for annoyance and irritation exists. We are taught that we shouldn’t have to wait, that squeaky wheels get the grease, and that if we must step on a few toes occasionally, that’s OK too.

Well, it’s really not. It’s unfortunate that the messages we hear are more strident than in recent memory. Doesn’t it make sense that before blame for a variety of ills is evoked it would be beneficial to explore our own partialities before informing others that theirs are wrong? It’s easy to do when we live in a relatively privileged society. What is our skin in the game? It is the need and the hope that grace is present for all in all situations. We have the capability to move beyond our smallness by sharing the wonder of a universal Christ, a Christ who is both present and infinite. Nothing in science has proven otherwise.

We play the impatience card when we disagree with others or when we don’t get our own way. We open doors of self-pity and remorse over things left undone. Dismay settles in compounding already difficult problems. Why does it feel as if everyone else is moving forward while we perceive ourselves trapped? We engage basics through public education but do not spend time enough at learning relational skills that enable for a lifetime. There are few one-size-fits-all solutions to the challenge of dealing with human emotion and relationships. It can be overwhelming to respond to disaster only to discover there are no tools in our tool bags, even the most rudimentary of ones.

It's no easy task that is laid out before us. Future generations will become what we model today. Christ walked among us demonstrating another way of living that focused on the person. He didn’t seek out a notable forum to underscore his importance to others. Instead, he walked with the helpless and hapless, the have nots and those differently abled. He did not seek the limelight as a popular self-confident celebrated public figure. Quite the opposite.

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death … (Philippians 2:5-8, MSG)

We should all have the settled patience of Christ who modeled by example. No complaints, comparisons, grumbles or grievances will we share as Holy Week approaches. Beyond our impatience, something remarkably good is about to happen.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 02/23/2024 06:42