while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Titus 2:13
Do you know someone who’s good at waiting? Not just someone who can wait, but they really seem to enjoy it. They are happy to wait while others mumble and can’t seem to make up their minds.
You know what I’m talking about. You’ve been seated at a restaurant and given menus to look over. You’ve had lots of time to settle in for a great meal and time with people. Drinks have been brought to the table and everyone’s had plenty of time to look over the menu. Their specialties are clearly marked on the menu. There’s even been some talk around the table about what the restaurant’s known for.
The server comes to the table and asks if anyone needs more time. But by now, everyone’s hungry and ready to order. Or that’s what you thought. The server looks at this one person and asks, “And what may I get for you today?” That’s when it all starts to go downhill fast.
You know you’re in trouble when they start out with, “Well, let me see. What looks good?” I don’t know about you, but at this point I just hang my head. They then might ask the server what looks good to them today. What have they tasted? What’s the most popular dish that they’re serving.
As you can guess, I’m not all that good at waiting. I never have because I come by it naturally. Both my parents were really poor when it came to waiting. I don’t know if it’s genetics or just the way they were raised. But neither my mom or dad were comfortable with waiting.
Now I’ve grown in my abilities to wait. I’m so much better than I used to be. If someone was late, or something took longer than I thought it should, I would always, always, always become impatient.
But there was no way that my impatience was going to be kept inside, I had to express it. If I didn’t release it, I was going to pop. And my favorite, go to expression was to take in a deep breath and sigh out loud. If this didn’t work, then I’d take another, even deeper breath and let out an even louder sigh while my shoulders drooped down to the ground.
I don’t know if the Apostle Paul was good at waiting, or if Titus was either. But Paul tells Titus that there’s something well worth waiting for. And the kind of waiting isn’t just a short wait before moving onto something else. It’s a waiting that keeps on waiting. A waiting that you’re doing right now.
This one thing that’s well worth waiting for is the blessed hope that Jesus is coming back again. And when he comes, he’ll make this world right again. He’ll heal every disease. He’ll cure every hurt. He’ll dry every tear. He’ll end death and mourning. All the old and ugly things in this world will be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth[1].
But when you wait for Jesus, you actually do more than wait. There’s more to waiting for Jesus than just waiting. Why? Because something eventually will come after waiting. You don’t just wait for Jesus to come, and once he arrive, that’s it. Oh no. Not at all.
Once the waiting is over and Jesus is here with you, You don’t just sit back and change the channel. No, you welcome him. You receive him. You celebrate that Jesus has arrived. Your patience and expectations have paid off. The one who died for you has returned to take back his children with him.
At the beginning of every baseball season, there’s spring training. Practice games. Lots of getting ready for the season. Tickets for opening day sell quickly as fans of all ages eagerly look forward to the first game of a brand-new season. Parking lots are full as fans pour into the stadium. They stand and cheer as the pitcher delivers the first pitch.
Jesus is oh so much more worthy of looking forward to than anything here on this earth. He’s God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. He’s eternal, never having a beginning or an end. He’s our savior, rescuing us from ourselves and the giant hole that we’ve dug for ourselves.
That’s the only one who’s coming back for you and me. He’s never abandoned us yet and he never will. He not only gives us strength for today, but his return gives us bright hope for tomorrow. He’s providing daily for us and will take us to be with him for all eternity. He comforts us in our deepest distress and promises us newness of life.
I can’t speak for you, but I haven’t been doing a whole lot of waiting for Jesus recently. Yes, I’m eternally grateful for his death on the cross and forgiveness of all my sins. Yes, he’s filled my life here on planet Earth. But there hasn’t been a whole lot of waiting for the blessed hope. And that’s nothing to brag about. It may even be the source for some of my sorrows.
So, it’s time to start waiting. Waiting for that hope. That blessed hope. The only hope that doesn’t disappoint. The only hope that doesn’t fade. The kind of waiting that’s only satisfied in Jesus.
Noodling Questions
How easy is it for you to wait? Why?
Why does/doesn’t the return of Jesus change our lives?
How can we leverage waiting for the glory of God and the good of people?
[1] Revelation 21:4
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