This weekend I graduated from United Lutheran Seminary in Pennsylvania. I finally finished my Master of Sacred Theology degree (STM), and it only took me ten years! I am so grateful for all of the prayers that were lifted on my behalf because I know that it made all of the difference. I am grateful for the time Pastor Scott gave me to work on the project. It was by the grace of God that I submitted my thesis and so I give glory to God.

In 2014, I had completed all of the required courses and planned to write the thesis within a reasonable time frame. Despite my efforts, the right topic just wasn’t coming to me! Years passed. I tried twice to write the thesis, but to no avail. I eventually even asked out of the program! Then the pandemic hit, and when we all returned to church, I knew my topic for the thesis was prime. I asked to be readmitted into the program. Fortunately, they let me back in!

Third time was a charm! Now, I celebrate!

This milestone helps me to see that it is never too late. It is never too late to accomplish something you desire to accomplish. It is never too late to change your course. It is never too late for things to change.

This is one of the major lessons of our faith. It is never too late for God. It is never too late for us!

There are so many times God comes in, not just in the last minute, but after the clock has run out. For example, it is estimated that Elizabeth was in her 50s-60s when she gave birth to John the Baptist. Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac. Moses may have thought all was lost as the Egyptian soldiers descended upon them with horses and spears with only the Red Sea in front of them, but all were surprised when God parted the sea and allowed the Israelites to pass safely through. Jesus performed many healings when it was thought to be too late. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead when he had already been in the tomb for four days. At Golgotha, the criminal beside Jesus asked him to remember him, and Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

It can be really hard to trust God’s timing. The clock seems to be running out. The alarm has already gone off. The hourglass stopped pouring sand. Even when it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, it doesn’t mean it is the end. Despite all things, we are called to wait, and not just to wait, but to wait with hopefulness. Psalm 130:5, “I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.” (NIV).

Jesus is the real proof that it is never too late nor will it ever be too late. When all seemed lost when Jesus breathed his last, God was up to something amazing. The bonds of sin and death were being broken and defeated. The grave they laid Jesus’ body in was empty and he was the firstborn of the dead and was made the head of a new family that transcends sin, death, and rebellion. Time had not run out; it was all in God’s hands.

God’s timing is not our timing. We go by minutes, hours, seconds, weeks, months, and years. God’s timing is about completion, perfection, and fruition. In Greek, it is called “Kairos” which means the right time, season, or opportunity. Most importantly, it means “the appointed time in the purpose of God.” We don’t always know when that is, but God does.

Perhaps then it is never too late. It is certainly never too late to come to faith. It’s never too late to start to pray. It’s never too late to try something new. God is always doing a new thing, and somehow the timing will work itself out.