Waiting for Godot

And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opening Mark 1:10

Immediately – Waiting for Godot, the famous play by Samuel Beckett, presents a visual reflection on the world’s view of God. We wait, and wait, and wait, but God never quite arrives. In the end, we are simply left waiting for the divine show. God’s arrival is nothing more than a false promise of illusory hope.

Apparently Samuel Beckett never had a conversation with Mark. Mark has a completely different perspective on God’s arrival, a perspective that resides in his continuous use of the word euthus. In one form or another, Mark uses the expression forty-two times in the gospel. Its primary meaning is “straight” but when it comes to temporal settings, it means “immediately”. When Mark talks about Jesus, there is no such thing as “waiting for Godot”. Mark wants us to understand the instantaneous action of Jesus’ ministry. Things happened right now. There was no delay between the plan of the Father and the execution of the Son. What the Father wanted, Jesus did. Instantly.

This sense of urgency is at the heart of Mark’s gospel. If we pay attention, we will discover that it is also at the heart of Jesus’ interaction with us today. Our spiritual lives are not scripted by Samuel Beckett. They are written by the Lord Jesus Christ and He is immediately present to us in every moment. He resides with us, permanently, constantly, compassionately. The enemy wants us to be discouraged with the deception of unanswered waiting. It’s a lie. Jesus is present now! How could it be otherwise? I am alive only because of His life in me.

The enemy has developed an incredibly intricate battle plan for emotional warfare. Did you think he would ignore such potent weapons in his arsenal of destruction? He has had practice lying to you and me since his conversation with Eve. He is very good at it. Nothing will defeat your stand for the Master faster than emotional mine fields. Don’t imagine that the enemy’s strategy uses only the morally reprehensible emotions. He is equally adept at turning aside the truth with all those “good” feelings. That’s why we need the rock-solid word of God. When you feel the strain of waiting, recall the word euthus. Jesus never waits to be at your side. He is the immediate man.