The Wait is over! It is now Christmas morning. The little ones come running down the hall with glee. Eyes wide with exhilaration, as they see the unwrapped gifts under the tree. … The Wait is over! He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a small velvet covered box and drops to one knee. The anticipation caught on your face as your eyes begin to leak with pure joy and your hands cover quivering lips. … The Wait is over! You slowly crack open the door as you pour yourself into the driver’s seat—the new car smell washes over you. You turn the ignition…. The Wait is over!
You’ve waited so long, and now the wait is over, but truly no words can captures what you’re feeling. But this doesn’t stop you from trying.
The same is true for apostles: The Wait is over! The Promised Holy Spirit is now being poured over the 120 or so who have been patiently waiting for this day (see Acts 2:1-4)! Luke attempts to capture the wave of the Holy Spirit as he pens these words, but truly this is a momentous occasion. We cannot deny it: Something happened that day. Something that has changed the world in such a way it can never go back. These 120 insignificant extras, if you will, reached Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and all the way to us, the utter most parts of the world.
But the ripples of this momentous occasion dare not stop with us as in a cove or “no wake zone”. No. Our nation is in desperate need for these ripples, these waves, yea, a tsunami, to once again wash upon her shores renewing her heart and soul….
And it is the church who is her heart and soul. It is the church who first needs the tsunami wave of the Holy Spirit. It is the church who needs the continual filling of the promised Holy Spirit, which leaves in its aftermath the destruction of the old, wicked, sinful life and rebirth of the fruit of the new Life.
This new Life of the Spirit will then be born on tree limbs that are strong and firm. The juice of Love will be sweet, savory and substantial. It will not be the gooey, sirupy sweet love this world offers. No, it will the substantial Love of the crucified and Risen Lord. It will be the substantial Love that is marked by sacrifice, devotion and commitment. A Love that is truly patient and kind not haughty selfish or rude. When our country sees this kind of church, this type of Christian, then maybe they, too, will see that the wait is over; that in our pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ our being continual filled by the Holy Spirit will indeed empower us to live the Life that is pleasing to Him, bearing fruit that will endure.
Is your wait over?