patience

(January 11th, 2007)

Thoughts as I responded to a dear friend about being patient in moving forward with grandiose ideas that will inevitably change the world …. (thanks Cliff for always inspiring me and letting me know I’m not alone)

It’s crazy that you mentioned waiting. I’ve been getting that same message. Perhaps I’m not as disconnected from God as I thought.

I was reading about the crucifixion last night and realized something I’ve never fully grasped. As Jesus was in His last moment, people were mocking Him and telling Him to save Himself.

He could have. I would have.

When He had the opportunity to save Himself from complete separation of God (in which, none of us will ever experience) and the pain that His death entailed, He didn’t.

Why? Because He saw the big picture. He knew that if He rushed the plan and spared Himself on the cross that people would not come to know Him. He knew He had to wait. He had too much to offer.

It’s disappointing to recount how many times I’ve jumped the gun to prove my point or validate what I believe.

In the battle that’s currently playing out in my head, I see so much of what Christ was trying to warn us of. So many of us want to change the world, but we’re running in circles because we want the revolution to be now. We become frustrated because we have these vivid visions in our minds of how things could be and we have very clear burdens for humanity that perhaps only we have and it’s killing us because we don’t know how to get there. Sure we’ll change the world, but what do we do today and tomorrow and next Wednesday?!?!

We wait.

We serve.

We love.

We’ll have our moment. A big moment. Where we’ll be able to endure much pain, knowing that the opportunity to make Him famous is just around the corner.

If we get in the habit now of being patient and riding it out, knowing that our obedience and suffering holds greater implications for humanity than our own plans, we’ll change the world. If we can just make it to the third day …

I’m still processing this, but i think we’re onto something. Thanks for being a part of this crazy journey with me … and for inviting me into your’s.