I’ve been New England for 12 years, which to me is a long time. In fact, it’s the longest time I’ve ever been in one place. But by New England standards, that’s the equivalent of a few weeks. In other words, I’m still a rookie in New England. I’ve loved being here and I’ve learned MANY things in my time here.
One lesson, in particular, has been hard. It’s been hard because I have a Type A personality - meaning I like to move fast and see quick results. The lesson? You can move as fast as you want, but the results rarely reflect the pace you’re moving at.
It takes time.
Over 12 years, that truth has been a constant. It often takes longer than you want. Not days, weeks, months, but often years. This is not new to me, and I’m guessing it’s not new to you, but just because it’s not new does not make it any less difficult of a truth. When you pour yourself into something or someone and don’t see the results you’d hoped for, it can be discouraging.
Four years ago I made a new friend who I’ll call Billy. I’d see Billy a few times a week. Sometimes our conversations would be somewhat surfacey, and other times they were meaningful. He knew that I served as a pastor so GENESIS would come up as he’d ask me how things were going with the ‘church thing.’ Over the years, I’d invite Billy to come visit GENESIS because I was excited for him to meet an amazing community of people.
It took four years, but he finally came… and he’s been coming back each week. And when I saw him the other day from across the crowded room he shouted to me, “Hey Michael, I’ll see you on Sunday.”
When I walked away from that moment I could not help but think to myself ‘it takes time.’
To be clear, the goal was not to get to know Billy so I could get him to come to GENESIS. Rather, the goal was to get to know Billy because I care about Billy. And if God would use me to help Billy see that he is loved by God, then I’m humbled and grateful to God for that.
It took four years, slightly longer than I would have chosen, but something is visibly happening with Billy. I say ‘visibly’ because I can see forward progress. That does not mean that there was no progress being made up to this point; God has always been at work in my friend’s heart - well before he ever met me. It just happens to be a season where I can see some of that work now.
I LOVE seeing the visible evidence of God working in people’s lives, but we don’t always get to see it. Over the years, I’ve wrestled with the question:
"Will I keep loving this person even if I never get to see God do in this person’s life what I would love to see God do?"
How would you answer that question? Would you be okay to keep loving someone that you might not ever get to see come to understand the great love of God? For me, it comes down to the simple but convicting thought of ‘is this really about me seeing something that I got to be part of, or do I love my friend because God’s given me a heart to love them?’
It takes time.
Often it takes longer than what you want. But be encouraged! Know that God is at work in the lives of the people among whom He’s placed you. If you never get to see something visible, that’s okay - because God might be using you in their life to help them see something visible in an Invisible God.
