Enjoying lateness

Being late is one of those things in life that I detest very much. God surely knows this, which is why He gave to me such a large family that would rarely be on time for anything. Actually, the ship runs fairly smooth in our home with all of the kids that we have to get ready. When we do run behind it's because Kellie and I are the last ones to get ready after everyone else is taken care of.

Beyond my family, I hate to be late for other things as well. If I tell you that I will be somewhere by a certain time, I stress if I can't make that time. Just this morning we were late getting out the door on the way to get the kids to school and then we hit the massive drop off line in front of the school. My goal: Get them to the door before 8:20 so they didn't have to get a tardy note. Result: Drop off occurred at 8:18, therefore mission accomplish and note avoided.

All of this semi-obsession with promptness can lend itself to impatience. If you know me well then you are probably snickering by now, so just keep it to yourself. Impatience certainly isn't considered a virtue but rather a mild form of hypocrisy. If you make me wait on you, then I will grow impatient. If you have to wait on me, then I expect you to understand my circumstances.

Then there's God in the mix of all of this. I often wonder how He puts up with me and all my junk. After all, He stepped out of heaven, put on flesh, died an agonizing death, and then gloriously resurrected so that I could be free from the penalty and debt of my sin, including the sin of impatience. Yet here I am, continuing to cannonball into the pool of my habitual sin. I know this grieves the heart of God.

So I am reminded of His incredible promise to me in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance." If the God of the universe is patiently waiting to return so that sinful men and women have the opportunity to hear the glorious gospel then certainly He is patient toward me as I put aside the sinful chains that have enslaved me and strive for His holiness. In doing so, He extends to me His incredible grace that I have done nothing to deserve. Perhaps we can extend this same grace to others in their lateness while at the same time glorifying God as He tarries a little while longer on our behalf.