Time and Treasure

The vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the goal; it will not fail. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3

Treasure terminates time: “If it takes forever I will wait for you …”  “Anticipation … is keeping me waiting!” “You can’t hurry love; no, you just have to wait.” “Just wishing and hoping and praying,” we’re “sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away.” Only love can make these statements true. Only love decides such delays are necessary. The unhappy Israelites waited four hundred years in Egypt while the Amorites finished sinning enough to warrant the judgment God promised Abraham. “At the right time Christ died for the ungodly,” though God spoke this promise of  salvation to Adam and Eve. Even now, though we are citizens of Heaven, we wait eagerly for the return of Jesus so we can experience the long-promised transformation we call the resurrection. God is not slow about his promise; he does not want any of his people to perish. So he’s waiting for us to make progress in repentance. When, by persevering in doing the good he commands, we pursue glory, honor and immortality, we will receive eternal life. What keeps us going in this effort is the certainty of the joy of receiving the incomparable riches of his grace in useful kindness forever.

Wise and sovereign God, enlighten my heart’s eyes so I will wait aggressively as I see your beautiful design unfold. Amen.