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Waiting

May 14, 2010 at 8:59 PM

I was stopped in my tracks by the following statement, “The tedious, time-consuming business of incarnation – Jesus was a three-mile-an-hour Palestinian Jew …”*

Slow is not a speed we are used to. 

When it comes to food and terms like “organic” and “sustainable”, slow is the operative word.

When it comes to fitness and strength, my daughter recently reminded me that strength builds with slow reps, not to mention proper form. It had been two years since my initial fitness routine had been shown to me. Amazing how my natural tendencies caused me to not only loose technique but increase speed. “Fast is not as productive as going slow dad!”

Consider this: Jesus waited 30 years (give or take) to begin his ministry. Surely he could have started sooner than that? Some New Testament scholars (F. F. Bruce) are of the persuasion that the apostles were in their 20’s when they began to follow Jesus.

There are occasional flashes of urgency in Jesus’s ministry, but for the most part his movements are slow and deliberate. He does not work with our preferred timelines (consider Jesus and his brothers in John 7 or Jesus arrival after Lazarus had died in John 11).

He was “three-mile-an-hour Palestinian Jew.”

My goal on the treadmill recently has been 3 miles in 30 minutes. I am more of a product of my culture than I care to admit.

Waiting rooms. Waiting lines. Waiting lists. Call waiting. None of these are candidates for anyone’s bucket list.

We sing “strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.”

“The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. It is good for the young to submit to the yoke of his discipline.” Lamentations 3:25-27 (New Living Translation).

This waiting is not passive. In the Bible “waiting” often relates to trust.

Waiting is active. Active by listening. Active by watching. Paying attention to God’s movements and his voice. Translating faith into life and daily choices.

Ministry built on relationships takes time. Sustainable relationships take time.

 

Larry
 

*Jonathan J. Bonk, International Bulletin of Missionary Research 34 (2), April, 2010, p. 2 (Accessible online http://www.internationalbulletin.org/archive/all/2010/ ) 

(Photo from Global News article "Be patient with H1N1 vaccine lineups: officials")

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