So Little Time

Jesus had a short time to accomplish what he came to do for all of history. He lived but thirty-three years and ministered only three years or so. The records of that work focus on the final week before his death. Under such time restraints, he needed to concentrate on what was most important, on what could generate solutions to other needs in the human condition.

He centered his work on reconciling broken relationships, first with God and then between people. Reconciliation is the closest thing to a cure-all for the world’s ills. And he gave his life to that end. Finances, health, social welfare, psychological peace, and the like are, in turn, corrected or at least greatly helped by getting rid of estrangement between people and the behaviors that cause it.

Observing these emblems of his ultimate act of ministry reminds us of what he considered most basic and commits us to that same priority—even if it costs us what it cost him.