If only
April 28, 2010 (Wednesday)
”If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” A simple old saying. If you want to read the complicated history of this proverb, then look it up on “Wikipedia.” There’s a lot there.
What I want to focus on, is the word, “if.” What a powerful two-letter word! We use it every day, and its use always means something.
There is a poem entitled “If” by Kipling. It has stood the test of time and is very popular. The conditions of being great are listed with an “if” on every line. The conclusion is that “if” you can meet the qualifications, “you’ll be a man, my son.”
A love song goes by the name, too. “If they made me a king, I’d be but a slave for you.” Yeah, right. For how long? Old married couples know that the companion song for that one is, “The honeymoon is over.”
The “If’s” of life are responsible for a lot of our self-imposed misery. Usually we tie the word “only” to it in order to bemoan our present state of affairs. Martha sent for Jesus when her brother was sick, but when Jesus arrived late, he had died and she said to Jesus, “If only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Well, I suppose she was correct, but Jesus had purposely delayed so that all might see the miracle of His raising her brother from the dead on the third day after his burial.
So, the next time you hear yourself saying, “If only,” think about Martha and Jesus. Remember that there are times in life when you don’t have the whole picture and maybe something is going on that you don’t completely understand.** We need to learn to trust the Lord and accept our lives as they are being played out. Hopefully, we surrender control to the Lord and become happy with that. If only we could do that.
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** “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV).