“The check is in the mail!” “You have not seen the dentist in over a year now.” “Your annual physical should have been six months ago.” “The baby was due two weeks ago!”
These are just a few of the familiar statements we might hear or say at some point in our life. Our world system is built around a twenty-four hour clock. Second by second time ticks away and waits for no one. Deadlines, due dates and calendars are a constant reminder that life moves on whether we are ready or not.
The One Who created the sun, moon and stars, however, is NOT limited to our earthly time table…”With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
In general, the fact is, people are living longer today. It is reasonable to ask the question, “Why?” In the United States, one reason may be because we have access to better health care and medicines that help with maintenance and cures when we do become ill. Let’s look at this a little differently; one with an eternal perspective through the lens of God’s grace and mercy. The passage from 2 Peter 3:9, written in The Amplified Bible Version gives us some insight into this amazing characteristic of God. “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.”
God is always pursuing a relationship with us, but He will never interfere with our free will to say either yes or no to His offer of love. It is sad to think that anyone would refuse such wonderful love and yet, they do. Often times, this refusal is due to a bad experience with another person who has disappointed or let them down and so, they blame God. Sadly, this is also true even within the church community. My mother-in-law had a situation when she became seriously ill and the only communication from her church at that time was to receive an update on her personal financial pledge. It took years for her to return to another church and build trust once again.
Human beings are neither flawless nor perfect! Our earthly environment is corrupted in many ways. BUT…GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF PERFECTION! He will never disappoint us but He will not impose Himself upon us. He gives us the “awful freedom” to choose eternal life or death through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has given us His very Best! What more could we possibly ask of Him?
Oh Father, thank You for being patient with me when I mistakenly blame You for the faults of other people who are just like I am…broken. AMEN
To The One Who is Long-suffering…Jesus.
Sherry Sharp
P.O. Box 4233
Richmond, VA 23242
804-327-0710 ext. 6