Late

Apologies

This blog is coming out late. That is not for any specific reason other than I just forgot to do it. Over the last couple of weeks our schedules have been impacted by the weather and now back into the somewhat normal pattern, I simply overlooked this task. Now I know that you all are eagerly anticipating the appearance of the blog each week (haha, sarcasm) so I know you have been constantly refreshing your browser to see if it's there. In reality, I truly hope that this blog is of help to you as you read it. It actually serves me as both a creative outlet and a discipline. I am not really an author. I much prefer face to face conversations, however, the weekly discipline to sit down and order my thoughts has been extremely helpful to me. I suppose I just want to say thank you for taking a few minutes to read each installment.

Priorities

Many different factors can affect our punctuality. Of course, this can be because we are disorganized and not on top of our commitments. Or we could be providentially hindered by something completely out of our control. But often, for those of us including myself, tardiness comes down to what we prioritize. I'm sure that psychological studies exist that show underlying issues that contribute to people being late. For example, many people who are chronically late are probably ironically trying to be so efficient with their time that they simply want to use every moment causing them to fall behind schedule. 

However, this takes on an even more moral component when we understand that this implies a prioritization of personal efficiency over other people. When our tardiness causes us to disrespect the time and attention of other people we are in essence putting ourselves before others. But among those in the kingdom of God we are to esteem others ahead of or before or above yourself (Philippians 2:4-11). 

When we do not prioritize people over our personal interests we have deviated from following the example of Christ. This also means that it is possible for circumstances involving our prioritization of others above ourselves to be the reason for us to be thrown off schedule. It could very well be the case that an unexpected or urgent need would be sufficient to cause an adjustment to our plans for the good of another person or persons. The behavior of the good samaritan takes real investment including our time (Luke 10:25-37).

Preparation

Earlier I mentioned that our tardiness could be because of disorganization. I know that I find myself often running late for no other reason than that I simply did not properly budget the time I have for the things that need to be accomplished. I think that many of us assume that we can get more done in a small amount of time than we can and so we fill up our time with more things than we can get done. The point here is simple: we need to learn the lesson of the ant and get an early start on the things that are truly important (Proverbs 6:6-11). We also need to heed the implicit warning from the sluggard that delay will result in disaster (Proverbs 6:6-11).

Principles 

As believers we should also rest in the reality that God is sovereign over all timing. By this I do not mean that we shouldn’t care about schedules and getting needed things finished on time. But rather that we can trust that God’s timing is right even when we cannot understand it. For one thing, God exists outside of time and beyond its confines. Our God is the creator of time and He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:8-11).

It is for this reason that God is never early and He cannot be late. Consider the miraculous reality of the incarnation. The Lord Jesus did not enter into our world at just some random point in history but rather Scripture tells us that in the fullness of time Christ came (Galatians 4:4-5). Meticulous sovereignty refers to the fact that God is in control and in charge of both the ends and the means. This means that God is not only orchestrating the purpose or result that He intends but the exact method and circumstances to the end. This includes when all things happen. 

Ultimately, even our own lives are a part of God’s eternal plan. He will bring the temporal reality to its appropriate and glorious conclusion and bring us in His eternal joy (Jude 24-25)! Brothers and sisters, let me urge you to spend some time thinking and meditating on the eternal joy of His presence when time will be no more (Revelation 22:5)!

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