21st September 2025

With all wisdom and understanding, 
[God] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, 
which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment – 
to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Ephesians 1:8-10 (NIV)

 Are we there yet?
It’s a familiar scene, one you may even have acted in yourself.  Mum and Dad tell the kids they’re all going to visit Granny on Saturday.  Saturday comes, and the kids are up early in their excitement, urging their parents to pack the car quickly so they can leave.

They do manage to leave, but they’ve only been driving five minutes when one of the kids asks, “Are we there yet?”  Mum replies patiently, “No, darling, Granny lives a hundred miles away and it’s going to take at least two hours.”  There’s a pause, and then a follow-up question: “But can’t we drive faster?”

At this point the parents wonder whether this is the best time to educate their young children on the fundamentals of physics, but realise they won’t have the capacity to understand, not yet.  Instead, Dad says, “We’ll get there as soon as we can.  We just have to be patient.”

Tim Keller suggests this is a helpful way to think of our problem with suffering.  We want suffering to end, and we want it to end soon.  We want God’s kingdom to come in its fulness, and for all things to be put under Christ.  Surely those are good things to want?  Yes they are.  They’re even things that God has promised he’ll do.  So why’s he taking so long to get us there?  Can’t he ‘drive faster’?

What if, like the children in the illustration, there are things which God knows but, even if he were to explain them to us, we wouldn’t understand them?  And what if there are things that have to happen before we get there, which only God knows about?  

Meanwhile, the Lord says to us, “We are going to get there, I promise.  I died and rose again to make sure of that.  And I’ll get you there as soon as we can.  It’s just there are some things I need to do first.  For now, you need to be patient.”

Prayer
Lord, thank you that you have a plan, a good plan, for the whole universe – to put it all under Christ.  Help me to trust that you really do have all things under control, and to be patient while I wait for you to get us there.  Amen.

Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)