The Timeline of Jesus

Christ sees all that will be as if it already was, all that was as if it now is, or is yet to be. Unbounded by the time he created, he lives above it and beyond it. Yet nothing happens within its cramped quarters that does not touch him, move him, stir his concern.

Thousands of years of human history come and go. War and peace. The rising of nations, and their fall. Progress and regress. Scientific breakthroughs and artistic achievements. Kindness and oppression. Moral victories and incomprehensible evil. Life and death. Joy and suffering. The successes and failures of billions — every facet of every life is known by the caring, timeless God.

Tears fall. Prayers rise. Through smiles and encouragement, through hateful and abusive words, he is always there watching. AIDS and addiction and incest. Healing, compassion and generosity. Nothing we face escapes his notice. Nothing in all the centuries since his birth, and nothing in all the millennia before his birth. Jesus is here. And he was there.

He was always there.

He is Alpha and Omega. The Beginning. The End. The Now.

And when time grinds to a halt, all we’ve ever longed for that is truly worthy will finally dawn, conceived by the patient Creator.

Do You Want to Be Well?

You realize you are ill. Your stomach is churning, your head is throbbing, your eyes hurt. Your shivering convinces you of your fever. You are weak and lightheaded, and the symptoms persist. By the time you make it to the doctor, you are genuinely concerned — a concern you think you see mirrored on his face.

But he reassures you, gives you what you’re sure is an accurate diagnosis, stuffs a prescription in your hand. You leave his office knowing that your restored health is as simple as following a few instructions and being patient with the healing process.

Upon returning home, you put the medicine aside, unopened. You disregard the instruction to force liquids and get plenty of rest. Not surprisingly, your health fails to improve, if anything, it worsens. At times, this concerns you — so much so that you take out the medications and the doctor’s instructions and spend a few minutes looking at them. Nevertheless, looking at them is as far as it goes.

Now, what’s wrong with this picture?

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And the New Testament says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

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