See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don’t know God, so they don’t understand that we are his children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. (1 John 3:1-2)

    For the first time, my brother and his young cousin were allowed to sit at the front of the church building by themselves while my uncle preached. They had been “warned within an inch of their life” to behave — not talking during the sermon, no getting up to go out, no lying down on the pew, no turning around and looking back...

    They were doing remarkably well and had nearly made it all the way through the whole sermon, when a lady in the row behind them just keeled over and slumped down in the pew. Like many little kids, they really didn’t know how to whisper. They were frightened. They were excited. They said exactly what everyone else was thinking, and in very direct language.

    “Is she dead? Is she dead?” my cousin whispered to my brother.

    “I don’t know! I don’t know?” my brother answered.

    It was one of those moments where a congregation hangs in a bizarre place we’ll call the Land of Uneasy Waiting. This was a moment of genuine concern for an older Christian lady that everyone knew was not in good health — apparently she had done this before in church. But the expression on the boys’ faces along their “whispered” shock heard by everyone in the congregation forced all of us to try to swallow our urge for audible laughter.

    Yes, it was inappropriate to laugh at that moment. Yes, there was genuine concern for this precious older woman. No, not many in the congregation succeeded at stifling the urge to chuckle just a little bit. We were involuntarily caught in the Land of Uneasy Waiting.

We live between the concern of this age and the joy of our Father’s eternal glory.

    Fortunately, two men quickly lifted the lady out of the pew and carried her back to the little foyer at the back of the building. A few folks attended to her while my uncle finished his sermon. The boys fidgeted and glanced back to where she had been carried. The rest of wondered how she was doing and tried not to watch these two boys consumed with frantic interest and concern. After a few minutes, we sang an invitation song, were led in closing song, and finished with closing prayer; due concern, of course, was expressed to the Lord about our ill sister in Christ. As we filed out, many of us got to see first hand that this saintly Christian lady was fine after having one of her “spells.” Her joke, of course, was that she couldn’t think of a better place to be when her time came to return to the Lord. The rest of us breathed a sigh of relief and concern was chased away with a chuckle. Our journey to the land of uneasy waiting was ended with a stop on the lighter side of joy instead of a trip to the hospital.

    As Christians, we find ourselves in the Land of Uneasy Waiting more often than we realize. We live between the concern of this age and the joy of our Father’s eternal glory. This place is sometimes defined by theologians as the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” aspects of the Kingdom. In the Land of Uneasy Waiting, we have concern for those who face physical battles and even death, while holding firmly to our faith that our future is tied to the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus. Some days, the concern side of the Land of Uneasy Waiting grips us more than the joyous side. Other days, our walk with the Lord is so vibrant and our external circumstances are so good that we primarily experience the joyous side.

    No matter what side of the Land of Uneasy Waiting you live in today, please remember that it is temporary. We are not citizens here, only pilgrims passing through on our way to better land. Like Israel during the wilderness wanderings, God is lovingly caring for us, working to bring us to our better home. However, there will be some hardships along the way because we haven’t reach our Promised Land. Heaven is not here, but the Lord’s presence will sustain us until that day comes. On our journey through the Land of Uneasy Waiting, we hold firmly to the hope that...

We will arrive at a better place,
We will see our Father face to face,
We will share a glory yet unknown,
When our Savior brings us home.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Title: "The Land of Uneasy Waiting"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: February 4, 2002

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