What is He waiting for?

I have discovered a neat, possibly new, feature with iTunes where you can download movie trailers. I am a pretty big fan of movie trailers generally speaking so I found myself click, click, clicking on all sorts of trailers. Mostly, I found movies that I'll likely rent in the future and then there was one that caught my eye...Religulous by Bill Maher. Oh great, a pseudo-documentary about religion. One part of the trailer stuck in my head more than anything else though. In one scene he is conversing with some dude who appears to be dressed as Jesus for an Easter presentation. It is a brief interaction with the following being said:

Bill: "Why doesn't he just obliterate the Devil, and therefore get rid of evil in the world?"
Dude Dressed as Jesus: "He will"
Bill: "He will? What's he waiting for?"

It is a tough question to answer. What is He waiting for? Why doesn't God bring his kingdom to earth and end the suffering. Why, if heaven is the greatest place to be, do we need to waste our time with the current state of affairs?

There is, of course, the basic answer of not knowing God's plans or His timing. Which is true, we don't know God's plan and I truly believe we lack the ability to ever fully understand it. The thing is, I still struggle to understand this question myself. It doesn't shake my faith, but I wish I could get my head around some possible reason to wait.

Then, the morning after, as I replayed the question in my head, something hit me. Maybe He is waiting for something so amazing and precious that it is worth holding off the apocalypse for. Maybe He is waiting for all those people...His people...His children...to come back to Him. Maybe He waits, weeping at the sight of having us live in this broken world, but knowing that the alternative would leave so many behind...or worse. He has done the work, paid the price, and opened the door to us all, and now...maybe he is waiting for us.

Maybe He waits for your teacher or coworker or friend. Maybe He waits for someone you haven't met or never will meet. Your mail carrier, the cashier, the girl who cut you off or the guy who's riding your butt while you drive. Maybe He is waiting for Bill.

Maybe He is waiting for my mom and my dad and my sister and my aunt and uncle and cousins.

Maybe He is still waiting for me to fully give my life over to Jesus.

Maybe He is waiting because He knows that once that ship sets sail, once the end of this age comes, there is no turning back. Those left behind will have run out of the chances to accept God's grace that each new day brings.

Maybe He is waiting for you.