TEXT: Psalm 37:34

SUBJECT: A String of Pearls #8: Why Wait?

Two months ago we began a Puritan study called A String of Pearls or the Best Things Reserved Till Last. The author is Thomas Brooks who first preached it in London at the funeral of Mrs. Mary Blake on June 8, 1657.

Though that was a sad day for the pastor and his church, it was happy day for Mary Blake. The gifts God gave her in this life were nothing compared to the blessings she got when she died. In death, the Christian loses nothing and gains everything. One minute in heaven is better than a thousand years of happiness on earth. The Lord gives us "all things which pertain to life and godliness"—and the best of them come at the end.

Up to now, we’ve looked at seven things the Lord gives us when we die: they are: an inheritance, a rest, the knowledge of God, the presence of Christ, the perfection of grace, good company—and in the resurrection—a glorified body. We don’t have these things yet, but they belong to us by promise—God’s promise.

Thus believers can live in hope and die with assurance. The love of God is not confined to this world and the few days we have in it. His love is eternal and everywhere. God is for us. Forever.

So far, the Puritan has answered the question of what—of what we get when we die. Now, near the end of his sermon, he looks at the questions of why—Why does the Lord give us these things? And why does He wait until the end to do it?

Brooks has a lot to say here, but his first sentence should be enough. He says

If He wanted to, the Lord could give us the best things first or spread them out evenly over time. But He doesn’t want to do this. He wants to give us some good things when we are converted, then

more as we live the Christian life, but the biggest and the best things He reserves till last. Because He wants to!

We need to accept this—and more than accept it—we need to celebrate it. But why doesn’t He give us all we have coming right now? Why does He make us wait and scuffle for years before giving it to us? It doesn’t cost Him anything. If a man deeds his property to his son, the father no longer has it. But when God gives us our inheritance, He loses nothing. So why not give it now?

A great deal can be said here—and not all of it is flattering. In the first place, the blessings belong to God and He can give them to whom He wants and when He wants! The fact that He gives them to us at all should be more than satisfactory!

But more than this, we have the wisdom of God choosing, not only what to do for us, but when to do it. What would you think of parents who so love their daughter that they give her a new car the day she turns…six? Or give their son an allowance of $1000 a week knowing he’s experimenting with drugs? Would you say the couples are mean and stingy? Or would you say they’re wise? Now, if we can trust human parents to support their kids wisely, why should we wonder about God?

I have no idea why I’m better off the way I am now than I would be if I were already glorified. But I know my Father in heaven is both wise and generous. And so I can wait hope.

Toplady has a great hymn to this effect:

The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom". Yes it is—the Kingdom is ours—but in our Father’s good time!

This is the first reason God reserves the best things till last—because He wants to. If no other reason could be found, this should be enough for us, as it was for the Lord Jesus Christ.

There’s a word for people who always get what they want when they want it: spoiled! Do spoiled people enjoy what they have? They often do—for about half-a-minute! Then the desire for something more or something better kicks in. We’ve all known children this way and maybe an adult or two as well. We can only pity them, for not only is their character flawed by instant gratification, but they cannot even enjoy what they have.

The Lord is hugely generous, but He is not foolish. He gives us far more than we want, but not in such a way as to spoil us. He readies us for Easter with forty days of Lent.

His discipline makes us holier now and happier in the world to come. I’m not sure I can prove this with a Bible verse, but if you compare the first two chapters of the Bible with the last two chapters, I think you’ll find the Redeemed happier than the Innocent. Christians who did without and died for Christ seem happier than Adam and Eve when they did without nothing and could not die.

Does God want us to be happy in this life? Most Christians say He does, some say He doesn’t, but—in fact—it’s a trick question. It all depends on how you think of happiness. If by "happiness" you mean good health, plenty of money, and no problems, then the Lord does not will for most of His people to be happy in this life. But if you equate "happiness" with hope, then He does want us to be happy, everyone of us, all our lives long.

Hope is related to faith and contentment, but it’s not quite the same thing: while faith and contentment look to the Promise of God, hope looks to the keeping of that Promise—its fulfillment.

The hope we have in the future makes the present life far sweeter than it would otherwise be. Take this hope away, and we become the stupidest and most pathetic people in the world.

But that’s the point: our hope isn’t taken away. We know the best things are reserved till last. This lightens the load we carry in this life and keeps us from being the fools others take us to be.

The best things are reserved till last because God is just.

What would you think of a father who told his son he must win the Olympic Gold Medal in the Decathalon? For twenty years, the son spent six hours a day, sprinting and running and pole vaulting, and putting the shot and throwing the javelin and more? While other boys are staying up late, he goes to bed at eight every night. While other boys are having fun with girls, he’s sweating in the weight room. While others are eating fast food, he’s on an strict diet. Finally, the boy wins the Gold Medal. When he shows it to his father, the man says, Whatever.

Does that sound right to you? Setting aside the love a father ought to have for his son, does this even sound just? I say the man cheated his boy!

The Lord cheats no one! Though Christians don’t earn His favor, God is just in noticing what we do and in rewarding us for it.

The fifth reason God reserves the best thing till last is to confound sinners who think God does not love us or that there’s good reason to serve the Lord.

There’s a story in the Bible, rich with irony. Haman is the most powerful man in the Empire, except for the king. Because one little Jew doesn’t respect him, he plots the annihilation of the whole people. The first man to die must be Mordecai, the one who bruised his ego in the first place. Early one morning, he goes to see the king to ask for Mordecai’s death. The king has no idea of who the Jew is, so he’s sure to sign off on the hanging. But that night the king had insomnia and he called for the most boring thing in the world to be read to him: the Imperial records. In them, he comes across a man who did him a favor some years before. What has been done for the man? Nothing. Well, I ought to reward him somehow. Here comes Haman; he’ll know what to do.

Haman, what should be done for the man whom the king delights to honor? Thinking the king meant himself, Haman comes up with a high honor: Put him on the king’s horse, array him in royal clothing, and have a prince lead him around the capital shouting, "Behold the man whom the king delights to honor!"

Capital idea! Says the king. You do that…for Mordecai.

The story makes you smile because the conceited prince got just what he deserved.

Now, part of the sinner’s punishment will be the wonder of the believer’s reward. Sinners laugh at us, but the joke is on them: in the end, it’s we who get the last laugh. Thus, the best is reserved for last for us because the worst is reserved till last for the sinner.

Finally, God reserves the best till last because we’re not ready for it yet.

Brooks employs two figures of speech. The work you’d ask a full grown man to do, you wouldn’t give to a little boy—because he’s not strong enough to do it. The privileges you confer on an adult, you withhold from a kid—because he’s not ready for them.

The strongest man in the world is too weak to hold up the glory God has for him! The oldest man in the world is too immature to take the privileges of heaven!

You can see this in the Bible. When angels came to men with a word from heaven, the men went all to pieces. When the glory of God came into the Temple, the priests ran out. When faced with perfect holiness, Peter could only beg: "Depart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man". When he saw Christ in the glory of heaven, John fell at his feet as a dead man.

No man can see My face and live! God said. He’s right—in this mortal state the magnificence of God is unbearable. That’s the state we’re in right now. But when we pass from mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorruption, then we’ll be ready to see Him as He is.

This is the final reason that God reserves the best till last. Because only then will it be the best for us.

If you want the best things of God, you can have them. Some of them you can have right now, others later, and all of them in the end.

Anyone can have them, but there’s only one way to get them: by faith alone in Christ alone.