So, What's the Hold Up?

What's the relationship between the constant harangue against the situation in Iraq, and my morning commute to work? Well, both seem to be inspired by the instant society we live in. You know--ATM's, oatmeal, burgers, e-mail. . . . Nothing is more than a minute away these days. And so patience is worn thin from atrophy. It is in this climate that we see guys like the one on my way to work recently. He hurried through the light in the right lane to make a u-turn on two wheels and make it onto I-20 rather than wait in line maybe 30 seconds for the light to change! Likewise, we hear how incredibly horrible it is that Iraq has not gone from decades of dictatorship and centuries of ethnic and religious squabbles to some idealistic notion of "democracy" in just under three (yes, it was March 20, 2003 that the war began) years! Amazing.

It hardly needs to be mentioned that God is a God of time. I don't mean only that He is "Lord of time." It is true that He rules over time and space. I mean, rather, that He utilizes time to do His work. 40 years of wandering. 40 days of temptation. 40 days and nights of rain. Also, the days of creation and rest establishing the pattern of work and sabbath, which is followed every 7 days and years, etc. There are many more. And there is an awful lot of waiting in scripture. The pslamists wait upon the Lord for His mercy and their inheritance. The prophets wait for the Lord. God commands waiting throughout the Bible. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Spirit. And now we, along with the whole creation, groan as we wait for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. I daresay that traffic lights and Iraq are part of that groaning. May we wait with patience and faith.