Waiting Patiently.
This morning I remembered someone I’d forgotten about. Well not quite forgotten, it’s just they hadn’t come to mind in some time. It is my my father’s eldest brother - Uncle Bernard. Bernard Burke was a figure that loomed large in my childhood because he was such a wonderful man. He visited our family from his home in England every year for around two weeks in the summer. When Uncle Bernard came he brought gifts, he took us on outings, he told us stories, he spent time with us. He was a lovely man, gentle, caring and generous. …And so it’s little wonder his Keady nephews and nieces strained for signs of his coming. We’d first of all listen for news that he’d arrived in the country, (he wisely always stayed with his sister and her husband). And from then we’d wait to hear for the day he’d come to us. And when it came, I found myself repeatedly asking - “When?” “What time will Uncle Bernard get here?” This was a man whose coming was eagerly looked forward to.
The memory of Uncle Bernard was brought back to me because of my Bible Reading today. In James chapter 5:7-8 the apostle urges Believers to patiently wait, and to be prepared for a much greater arrival. Let me read the verses:
James 5:7-9 NIV [7] Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. [8] You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. [9] Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
The Christians James wrote to thought Jesus was coming back soon to rescue them from the oppression of the Roman occupation and Jewish persecution. When it wasn’t happening as soon as they thought some were getting impatient. And impatience is the forerunner of giving up. The passage hints at this weariness in waiting when he admonishes them not to grumble against one another (V.9). “The Judge is standing at the door, he reminds them.”
James writes to bring assurance, but also an understanding of how they were to wait. He uses the metaphor of a farmer waiting for harvest day. The farmer knows that day will come and he also knows that it’s pointless being impatient - his crop must grow, and so he must wait. He also knows that each day he waits is a day less he has to wait. Harvest is nearer now than it was yesterday.
And so it is with Christians and the return of Jesus. He’s certainly coming, and His coming is nearer today than it was yesterday. And when He comes it will be truly, truly wonderful. Therefore in light of that we’re to be both encouraged and prepared.
Has the truth of the Saviour’s second coming slipped from your mind? Are you still as expectant of that day as you once were? Perhaps these verses from James serve as reminder of keeping this doctrine to the fore. When we do it helps us to live out our life of faith with steady patience and increasing holiness. As Peter, (writing about the same subject), tells Believers that they:
2 Peter 3:11-12 NIV [11] …ought to live holy and godly lives [12] as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
Prayer: Lord I thank you for this reminder that your coming is certain. And that it is nearer today than it was yesterday. In light of that help me to be holy, to live for your glory, recognising that each day I wake could be the day of your arrival. Amen.