Wanting

"The devil is but another name for our impatience. We want bread, we want to force God's hand to rescue us, we want peace -- and we want all this now. But Jesus is our bread, he is our salvation, and he is our peace. That he is so requires that we learn to wait with him in a world of hunger, 

idolatry, and war to witness to the kingdom that is God's patience.

The Father will have the kingdom present one small act at a time."

(Stanley Hauerwas in "Commentary on Matthew", p. 55)

Lately I've been very impatient about God's patient (and peaceable) kingdom.

Why won't it come RIGHT NOW ?
(On my timetable!)
How am I to respond when the kingdom for which I pray seems to recede further and further into the future? (Facing my mortality never makes me happy!)
And who has time for small acts? Isn't it time we do something BIG?
(I'm not sure I can trust God to get anything done...so I need to do something myself!)

As the political situation here in Wisconsin continues to spiral towards God-only-knows-where,
I keep wondering, "How is the faithfulness of Jesus calling me to live right now?"
I don't think it's as simple as trumpeting forth in the pulpit.
Or posting blog entries, or reading about "the issues", or (for me) even demonstrating.
I'm too attached to my own vision of an "appropriate outcome" to pray honestly about it.
By Hauerwas', definition, "the devil's got a hold on me"!

"Humans need more than bread to live."
"Don't put God to the test."
"Worship and serve God alone."
Those were Jesus' answers to his temptations.
Jesus' answers always challenge me to ask better questions!
What about you?