Today I had the honor of witnessing a rare moment in a family’s life.
I am currently visiting the church I worked with on the World Race in Thailand. (I am in Thailand to help lead a children’s program for a Christian conference.) Yesterday I was invited to take family members to visit a Christian man in jail.
This afternoon we picked up the family and drove an hour to the jail. Once we arrived we waited another hour or so while I tried my best to converse. Unfortunately I don’t know Thai, so I mainly played rock-paper-scissors, tick-tac-toe, teach-the-foreigner-Thai and made-up games with the kids. When it was our turn to go inside to visit, we made our way through a hallway and into a narrow room with a row of windows on one side that looked into another room and phones lined up on tables.
The inmates came in and everyone picked up a phone. I stood across the hallway and wai’d to the man. The children stood on the table to see their dad. They kissed him through the glass and took quick turns with the phone, making the most of the brief time they had.
For a moment, I felt intrusive being there for such a significant moment for a family I hardly knew. They only see each other 30 minutes twice a month. But I got over that when I realized nothing could ruin that time. Despite circumstance, joy was expressed so clearly in the man’s face. It could be another decade before the family can be reunited, but he didn’t appear discouraged.
An announcement was made in Thai, and everyone on our side of the wall hung up the phone as everyone on the other side filed out. The man lingered until he was the last to leave the room.
This experience provided a portrait for me of God’s love for us in waiting.
I wouldn’t pretend to understand an eternal perspective, but it is most likely different than one bound by time. I don’t know if God experiences waiting like we do because he is outside of time, but today made me believe that it could be similar in a way.
Our (at least my) communication with God is not perfect. Of course because of Christ, we can boldly approach the throne of the Lord. We no longer need a priestly mediator because the perfect high priest provided himself as a perfect sacrifice, hence the veil was torn. However, living in two different realms, an eternal and temporal, our connection is limited. In I Corinthians, Paul uses an analogy of seeing dim reflections in a mirror.
So why doesn’t Jesus just come back so that we can see him face to face? I feel his presence in my life, but it’s like talking over the phone when there are only inches between us.
My understanding of the last part of the parable of the seeds in the garden is that Jesus won’t come back until the harvest is ready. There are more to be added to his Kingdom. His bride is not complete. In Ephesians it says that the Church is the Lord’s inheritance. An inheritance conotates waiting.
This is why I think God experiences something like our waiting. We may have to wait a lifetime for the fulfillment of a promise, but God has waited from the time of creation until this moment for his inheritance–the church. He has waited literally forever for each of us. If he came back a day before i was born, I wouldn’t be in the Kingdom. He waited for me and those born up until this very moment.
With joy, he sees us on the other side of our limitations, and shows us his presence in our lives by his infinite creativity. Although he is in all things and through all things, he waits for us to be able to know him fully, just as we are fully known. He patiently waits for his prize.
—
Thank you for reading my blog! My time at the Center for Global Action (CGA) has been transformative. Through the classes and discipleship I jave gained skills, learned my natural gifts and have become closer to the Lord and more fruitful in the community. This time is preparing me for the calling God has for me.
CGA is a support-raised program, meaning I must reach financial deadlines through donations to stay. I’ve seen God’s faithful provision in reaching the deadlines through the genorosity of supporters time and time again.
My next deadline is the 23rd, and I only have $350 left to raise! If you feel led to partner with me and become a monthly or one-time supporter, you can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the “Support Me!” button on the left of this blog (the bottom if you are viewing this on your phone.)
Or if you’d prefer to send a check (this method avoids a 3% processing fee), you can send one made out to Adventures in Missions with my name (Stephanie Ransom) in the memo line to:
Adventures in Missions
P.O. Box 742570
Atlanta, GA 30374-2570
Thank you for your prayerful consideration!
