can't or can't hardly?

I remember when, as a child, I would get frustrated and say, "I can't..." My dad invariably would respond with, "Can't or can't hardly?" I'd cry out, "I can't do this!" and he would say, "Can't or can't hardly?" I might say, "I can't wait!" and there he would be replying, "Can't or can't hardly?" It was maddening, but I would realize that in almost every instance my frustration did not come from inability but impatience.

Lately I have been musing over occasions which cause me to say, "I can hardly wait." At this time of year, a big one is family vacation. I look forward to getting away from routine, into the mountains, out of the heat. I like to travel anyway, and my friends know that I'd be gone all the time were it not for little, insignificant things such as having to work for a living, high fuel prices, etc.

I have a close friend who lives in Tucson, and we both look forward to being able to get together on a vacation trip. We've camped together in the past, but the last time was five years ago, and we "can hardly wait" to do so again. Looking forward to getting together isn't so much for the vacation or the camping, even though we both enjoy those; it is for the reunion because we love each other as friends and brothers in Christ.

Lately I've been convicted that, while I have [truthfully] said, "I can't wait for Jesus to come back!" it is not the same kind of yearning. I commented on this to another friend over coffee this morning, and he referred to Jesus' return as [the beginning of] the ultimate vacation; if I look forward to it through the lens of my own understanding (What will it be like?) as an eschatological topic, I won't yearn for it like I will seeing a brother again. But that's the key--I can hardly wait to be together with my closest brother, Jesus! (See Romans 8:29-20, Hebrews 2:9-13.) As A. W. Tozer said,

It is precisely the "yearning" and the "fainting" for the return of Christ that has distinguished the personal hope from the theological one. Mere acquaintance with correct doctrine is a poor substitute for Christ, and familiarity with New Testament eschatology will never take the place of a love-inflamed desire to look on his face.