The Deep Breath before the Plunge

I'm waiting for something.

I remember as a kid, saving up points or UPC's to send off for a special toy or something, and I remember the anticipation, the edge of my seat eagerness that was there every time I opened the mail box for the 4-6 weeks it would take. The joy of finding that long awaited thing was almost more powerful than the joy of having that thing itself. The reason was that the wait was heavy.

You may know this heaviness I speak of. It's there when you are waiting for the beginning of that first date, or the job interview. It's sitting there, in the pit of your stomach as you wait for the doctor's diagnosis or the words from your wife, "It's time." The heaviness is almost more than you can bear, even if the birth the event is a terrible thing, you want the wait to end so you can do something about it.

This is especially painful for those of us with the patience of a fruit fly. Waiting doesn't just hurt me, it kills me. Right now, I sit here, waiting for this semester at our church to begin. I'm waiting to see what God does, and I believe He will be doing something amazing- not just because I have to, but because I can feel it. The anticipation is sitting heavy.

I feel this way, because God has lead me to an idea. It's not a revolutionary one at all, in fact, it's thousands of years old. The idea is to ask myself, and all of you- "Who do you say He is?" The idea is to call us all back to Jesus, the Man/God who changed the world by not fitting into it. To look at Him with eyes not tainted by our prejudices or our inclinations, but to look at Him for who He was- and is.

I believe that the world is messed up. In fact, it is so messed up, I don't think we can fix it. We won't forever end all wars, we won't cure every disease, we won't love everyone. We won't take good care of the things that should matter to us, and we won't succeed at the things that do really matter.

We will fail, because we are fallen.

But He isn't.

So, while we can't save the world with our activism, philanthropy, politics, environmentalism, science, medicine, or religion- He already has. We just haven't fully accepted His offer. Some never will. But those of us who do believe in the Rescuing Jesus, we will be able to work with our activism, philanthropy, politics, environmentalism, science, medicine, and religion; tied inextricably with Jesus; toward the fixing of things. By His power, and in His timing.

Until then, we wait. We seek the small moments, like a semester of seeking to find who Jesus is with some other people seeking Him just as passionately. And we wait and wait patiently.

As the book of Romans has it in chapter 8, verses 22-25
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

So I take a deep breath, before the start of this year with our church, before the time with my family and friends, before the search for Christ. I take a deep breath before the great plunge in to hope.

The hope of redemption.