Wait For One Another

11.11.2009

1 Corinthians 11:33 33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. New American Standard Bible

Paul’s letter(s) to the Corinthians could be letters written to most churches today. The very things he warned them of are the issues that pop up all over in the modern church. But as I read this morning and thought about all that may be out of adjustment in the modern church, I saw what appears to be a way to correct most of it without much effort: wait for one another.

There is so much emotion, heart, spirit, and consideration encapsulated in those words – wait for one another. We can wait for the slow to catch up. We can wait for the fast to slow down. We can wait while there are those grieving, hurting, recovering. We can wait for truth to prevail and righteousness to shine. We can wait in the church, in the home and in personal relationships. We can wait for the stressed to calm down and wait for the sinner to come to his senses. And by waiting we can cut each other some slack. If slack is to found anywhere it ought to be found in the church.

I am called up a bit short by Paul’s words today and I am reminded of the people I know that I am to wait for – loved ones, friends, and co-workers; neighbors and fellow citizens. I honor Christ by waiting for others. I exalt the Lord by waiting before I criticize or judge, or lose my patience and complain. I am to learn to leave the results to Him and let Him work in the lives of all of those people. So today, it’s off to school I go to learn, in Christ with Christ in me, to wait for one another…

Father in Heaven,

It’s not the difficult parts of Your word that I so struggle with, it’s the easy ones. May I find grace today to wait for others and to treat them with the courtesy and kindness of Christ. May I learn to be an example of love and grace and waiting while You accomplish Your purposes in them. Help me to be a overflowing fountain of Your mercy, and not just a leaky faucet – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.