There’s a trend I’ve noticed here in Asia. When asking an Asian Christian if a non-Christian is a saved, they usually say, “Not yet.” Usually in the United States, we just say, “No.” And I could just pass this off as a small difference or a slight change. It’s only one added letter and one extra syllable. But I know enough about expectant hope that I choose to look at it differently.
What if we chose to say “Not yet.” What if we expected those we love and those we don’t quite like that are lost in this world….to be saved just as we have been.
When I talk to my teammate Collins about her almost 1 year old nephew, I usually ask if he’s walking or talking and she says, “Not yet.” Because we know he will. He’s already standing and forming grunts that resemble words. We know he will be less of a baby and more of a child soon. It is expected of him. So why can’t we, as Christians expect this much of our God, knowing that He wants nothing more than to save everyone? And who are we to think it can’t be done?
I tend to be cynic. And not the rational kind, but the one who just expectantly waits for things to disappoint her or to not work out. The kind that knows I’m at some point going to fail or not measure up to my own expectations. The kind that questions what everyone else does, because she questions everything she does. Therefore, nothing is quite certain, or is it? I think I’ve said before that I work in a lot of grays. That’s what you get when you mix the blacks and whites. And you get the same when you’re too smart or too scared to choose between the two.
That’s why these “not yet”s have really hit me. Because these people aren’t just saying that these people are not Christians or that they haven’t been saved. They’re not saying that these people haven’t chosen freedom or that they haven’t jumped into the deep end of their story of redemption. They’re saying that every non-Christian is standing on a precipice, full of potential energy. And they’re all begging for a reason to step off the ledge. They’re staring into the depths and they need us to be staring back at them and yelling, “JUMP IN!!!”
This isn’t a call to change how we speak, but it is a call to change how we think. Lets talk and pray as if God WILL do something amazing in people’s lives to call them to a place of redemption. Let’s pray for nations as if God WILL move political and traditional mountains for entire races of people. Pray right now, expectantly so, as I type this from a country that forces us to close the all windows, doors, and to draw the curtains to worship Him.
And pray for my team and I as we finish our last month in Southeast Asia. This season has been so beautiful and I have fallen in love with every place we have been. So much so that if you asked me if I think I’m done with Southeast Asia, my answer would be much like His….
“Not yet.”
