Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (James 5:7–10 NLT)
Ask any elementary student when the longest day of the year takes place, and they might say it’s the last full day of school before summer vacation. But in terms of contrasts between felt reality and the actual path of the sun across the sky, there is no competing with the last day of school before Christmas break.
Christmas Eve is officially one week away. For any kid who has been staring at the pile of presents under the tree, this next week will be interminable. There is a reason so many of us keep track of how many days until Christmas with Advent calendars full of chocolate or chains of colorful paper: being able to see how many days are left to go makes the waiting so much easier.
This season of Advent is one of looking back while looking ahead. We remember the birth of Jesus – and all that led up to and came after it – which took place during this period when the people of Israel were waiting expectantly for the arrival (advent) of the Messiah. Today, we look ahead to the second coming (advent) of Christ, when he will usher in the fullness of his Kingdom and bring full restoration to all creation.
James reminds us that though the waiting is hard, it is our duty to be patient. It would certainly be easier if we had some cosmic construction-paper chain to count down the days. “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows” (Mark 13:32).
How do you wait patiently when the day of arrival is unknown? By focusing on the day at hand.
There is a famous study performed in 1970 where kids are given the option of eating a single marshmallow right then or getting two marshmallows if they are able to wait until the researcher returns, usually a wait of fifteen minutes. Over the years, this study has been replicated a number of times, with slight variations on the results each time. One thing that remained consistent, though, is the tactic by which most of the kids refrained from eating the marshmallow in front of them: they focused on something else.
It was the kids who were thinking about the reward to come who most often failed to delay their gratification and ate the treat in front of them before the researcher returned.
When we focus on the end result – whether it is a second marshmallow or the day of our Lord’s return – it becomes much easier to lose our patience over the fact that what we want has not yet arrived, especially when we have no idea the day or time it will show up.
This doesn’t mean we can slack off like the five bridesmaids who failed to take enough oil for their lamps as they waited for the bridegroom’s return (Matthew 25:1–13). We should absolutely be mindful that Jesus could return at any moment, which is why we should live out our faith in such a way that every act is announcing the Kingdom of God in our midst – loving God and neighbor in word and deed by caring for the poor, comforting the prisoners, feeding the hungry, protecting the foreigners in our midst, and hundreds of other acts, small and large.
How are you spending your days waiting for the Lord’s return?