The other day, my wife and I were in San Francisco, enjoying some time with our son and his family. We drove our car there, but that’s not how we got around, once we arrived. You might say we ‘Ubered’ it. On my cell phone, I ordered up transportation over the two or three days we were there. My phone would instantly display a map of the streets of San Francisco, showing not only my location, but the location of my Uber driver, his name, the kind of car he’s driving, and his license plate number, and most importanly, how long it would be before he arrived at my location. The technology for that kind of transportation is really amazing. And as I thought about how some really smart person came up with the idea for Uber, the thing I am most impressed with isn’t the map, or the blinking circle that tells me where my Uber driver is. The really wonderful part of Uber, it seems to me, is that Uber has addressed the reality of … waiting around.
Human beings in our culture intensely dislike what we call “waiting around,” have you noticed? It seems like most of us have an imaginary ‘foot’ that we silently tap while we’re waiting around for something to happen. I still think it’s amazing that I can request an Uber ride on my cell phone, and within seconds, I’ll be notified about how many minutes I’ll have to wait, before our Uber driver arrives. They certainly wouldn’t have to tell us how long it will be. I know that if I order an Uber ride, ‘eventually’ he’ll show up.
We use phrases like “at the end of the day” to describe what we think will eventually happen. Instead of using ‘eventually,’ to describe exactly when something is going to happen, we use phrases like “Sooner or later.” Eventually can be another way of saying, “in the final analysis,” I guess. Some fine day, we’ll find out, or understand, or eventually know the truth about something important. Eventual happenings seem inevitable, unavoidable, or sort of ‘in conclusion.’ Eventually is, you might say, ‘after all is said and done.’ Eventually can be after a bit, or in the long run.
The bible is full of the truth about eventualities. God told Jonah to go preach to the people in Niniva. He tried to run from God. But after three days in the belly of that great fish —eventually — well, you probably know the story. And Noah worked on the ark for many, many years because said it was going to rain. And eventually, and right on God’s timetable, it did rain quite a bit. The Israelites wandered around in the desert for forty years. But eventually … they crossed into the promise land.
Eventually can seem to be delayed, of course, but it can’t be avoided. In fact, where God is concerned, I want to be careful not to live my life waiting around for what’s going to happen ‘eventually.’ Because, when eventually finally gets here? After all is said and done? At the end of the day? Waiting on God is a lot different than waiting for a ride from Uber. God will, for an absolute certainty have something to say about how I lived my life while I was waiting around for what everybody knows is going to happen … ‘eventually.’
“For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” (Mark 4:22-23)