Most of us get tired of waiting. Waiting in line. Waiting for lunch break. Waiting for the weekend. Waiting for time with the people we love. Waiting for understanding among family members. Waiting for the storm to pass. Waiting for the day when little children don’t have to die hungry. Waiting for peace between neighbors and nations. Waiting to be reunited with loved ones who have died. It seems like most the stuff we are waiting on could be fixed if Jesus would just hurry up and come.
Probably the most puzzling and controversial thing about Jesus is the fact He promised to come back. That was twenty centuries ago. As much as we get tired of waiting, God has been waiting longer. A thousand years might seem like one day to God in eternity, but Jesus knows what it’s like to wait because He stepped into time when He came to live among us.
God waited while His enemy gossiped about Him in heaven. Then He created this earth and He waited for people and angels to make their choices. He waited for Adam and Eve while they hid in the bushes. He sent them from the Garden with a promise to set things right and then He waited. For thousands of years, our Creator has been waiting while He watches His beautiful creation crumble under sin.
God waited to come and live among us until the time was right. He left the light of heaven to wait in a dark womb for nine months. He waited to be old enough to discuss what was on His heart in the temple at 12. He waited by going home to learn the carpenter trade and lived a simple hard working life until He was thirty.
He waited to find the right men to follow His leading. Then He waited for them to catch on to who He is and what He was about to do. He waited while Lazarus died so He could show us He has power over death. He waited for the right time to go to Jerusalem to make a point about His love. He waited to wash the dirty feet of His followers and explain what was going on. He waited for Judas to do his sneaky deed.
He waited for the Father to sustain Him in the garden. He waited for His friends to join Him in prayer–but they didn’t. He waited for the kiss of betrayal and He waited to repair one man’s ear with love. He waited in the courts of Pontius Pilate. He waited to be rejected and scorned and He waited to wear a crown of thorns. He waited for Peter to curse His name.
Jesus waited for His Father to show up, but our sins caused Him to feel separated Him from the Father. While He was waiting to die, He asked John to take care of His mother. He waited in the tomb over the Sabbath. When He woke up, He waited to meet up with His Father until Mary discovered He was not the gardener.
Later while Jesus waited for His friends to bring in their catch, He cooked breakfast for them. He waited to go away, but the day finally came. He promised to return and He’s still waiting. He’s waiting for Satan’s horrible sin experiment to play out in all of its misery. He’s waiting for a group of people who know Him and love Him to show the world who He really is so they can trust Him too. He’s waiting for day when the climax of Satan’s deceptions and misery stand in opposition to the revealing of His loving character.
He’s waiting to populate this Earth with people who never want to be selfish again. He’s waiting for our choices to be decided either for Him or against Him. He’s waiting for us to realize He is always for us and can’t wait to be with us. He still waiting, but He waits patiently. It’s because He has already conquered sin and death so we can wait patiently too. Nothing can separate us from God—not even while we are waiting.
