Romans 8:18-19

Romans 8:18-19
English Standard Version (ESV)

  This is the hardest thing about being human.  My 6 year old son likes waiting as much as he likes broccoli.  They could be handing out ice cream at the front of the line and he'd get anxious waiting.  We don't like waiting, and so what we often do is choose the easy way out -- we look at distant promises and think they are too far off, and so we settle for something that offers more immediate gratification.  A long way down the road, we may regret this decision, but in the meantime we are grateful that we don't have to wait any more. 
  Christianity urges us to discipline ourselves to be patient, to trust in slow discipleship that takes a lifetime to develop, to focus on spiritual practices that don't feel like they are yielding immediate fruit but will develop our character in the years and decades to come.  It's hard to wait, and there are so many temptations to stop denying ourselves immediate pleasure, but Christianity points to abundance that waits down the road.  It's not 'Your Best Life Now', perhaps, but God has always promised that it would be worth the wait, and God is a promise keeper, so let us keep our eyes and hearts focused on the future glory.