WAITING

Paul wrote to the people in Rome:

“The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight

of the children of God coming into their own.”

--Romans 8:19 

I really like J.B. Phillips’ translation for it expresses so wonderfully the way we often wait. At the gate in the airport—on tiptoe in anticipation. Looking over the banister on Christmas morning—on tiptoe. Looking in the nursery window at the new baby—on tiptoe. In this one verse, we have all creation on tiptoe waiting! For whom? For the children of God—you and me and everyone and all creation—coming into their own.

What does it mean to “come into their own”? It seems to me that it means that every baby will have the chance to grown into the person that he or she was created to be. That the child will have parents with love, will have food to eat, will have friends to sustain, will “increase in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man.”

 That is a big order. That means that we as the children of  God must find ways to wage peace. We must feed the hungry, heal the sick, educate the ignorant, shelter the homeless, love the enemy, work for peace.

Whether we like it or not, it is up to us—followers of the Prince of Peace. We, not America, are the hope of the world. This is not to say that everyone must be a Christian, but does mean that those of us who know the answers must work to bring them about. The whole creation is on tiptoe for us to live up to what we know.

Expectations bring amazing results. The great African American singer of the first half of the 20th Century was Roland Hayes. He grew up and performed during the height of racism in the U.S. In his autobiography he wrote, “All I am I owe to OAngel MO” (his name for his mother). Children who have parents who have reasonable expectations are more apt to excel than those who have parents who don’t seem to care.

When we realize the expectations that God and the rest of Creation have of us, we can either roll over and quit, or we can begin to live up to the gifts we have been given. We will start to “do justice, love mercy and walk humble,” bring love and peace to the whole world. It will be a job requiring sacrifice, but the one we call Lord set the example. We, and creation, wait for the birth of the Prince of Peace in our hearts.

                                        --The Rev. David W. Polhemus