I have heard that certain pizza companies will not charge you if your pizza arrives late. At least that used to be the rule. I think Pizza Hut and Dominos have changed their policy because of auto accidents. The point is, in the united states we are in not in the habit of waiting.
Here in Nicaragua it is not out of the ordinary to wait in traffic behind horse drawn carts, firetrucks, or cyclists carrying lengths of pipe. Life runs at a different pace here. If you are an hour late for something it is not the end of the world.
It was either Jesus or Gandalf that said something about arriving precisely when he intends to. There is no early or late here in Nicaragua, things just seem to happen on a different time frame.
The gospels are brimming over with descriptions of Jesus being on the way to places. The woman at the well, the blind man at the side of the road, the demoniac in the caves; all of these were along Jesus’ path. Now if I was Jesus, I probably would not have stopped for these people. After all, Jesus did have some commitments to keep. If he stopped to heal one sick person, then they would be lining up just to get healed by him (Mark 2:2). He was on the way to keep a feast- can’t be late for that.
‘Late’ is the word that keeps so many from reaching out in love. It is the word that keeps even the caring christian running around in circles like a little white rabbit with a pocket watch. Much outreach is a mile wide and an inch deep.
But kingdom life is simple. If you take the time to slow down and love the people right in front of you and love them well, God will do more than you could have imagined.
For many years my problem was not that I did not care about the needs around me, but that I was wrapped in a schedule that was packed too tight. I did not allow the space in my life to stop for the one. I was a pharisee rushing to the other side of the road because I was already fifteen minutes late to Bible study.
Instead of the little white rabbit from Alice and Wonderland, I would rather be the Cheshire cat. Honestly, that cat didn’t have a lot of answers but it kept showing up at the times Alice really needed it. What this looks like for me is planning for gaps in my schedule. If nothing else I will be less stressed and get less speeding tickets. But by God’s grace I could end up with a lot of opportunities to stop for the one.
Matthew 20:17 “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them…”
