Via Patheos:
Jesus changed none of these things while he was on earth. But all of them have been changed, in various times and places, by Jesus' redeemed people in the centuries since. What a beginning it was, those twenty centuries ago, when Jesus came as a newborn baby to live among us. The world then was a darker place for the average person: brutal, dangerous, ignorant, and unjust. Jesus didn't need to experience that, but he came and lived with it for a time.
He didn't regime-change the empire; he didn't rewrite the law or adjust the "distribution" of wealth; he didn't explain the solar system or provide antidotes to infections; he didn't abolish slavery or proclaim the equality of women. Doing those things wasn't the purpose for his life on earth.
He came here, to this cynical, mean-spirited, ugly-hearted world of men and women, to change us—to make us different, to give us new hearts, new eyes, and a new power. And he did.
What didn’t Jesus change according to the linked article?
- “…even the wealthiest and most powerful people of the day were subject to the rampant infections caused by poor public hygiene”
- “…average lifespan was short”
- “…vast majority of humans had to scratch their daily bread from the earth, tending animals or growing crops”
- “…slavery was widespread”
- “Rome herself, while she promoted abroad a certain level of enlightenment and order, was a hard and often brutal taskmaster to conquered peoples.”
Ponder:
- The article stresses that such things as were changed came from changed people.
- The need to continue becoming changed people is echoed in these statements from Your Unfinished Business:
- “Ultimately, pursuing your unfinished business, that is, being a steward of your unique circumstances, leads you to becoming a servant. And it’s unfinished business because a servant’s work is never done. Not only are there always needs to meet, there’s always room for becoming a better servant.”
- “Being a servant is never about getting something for yourself but about ensuring what’s best for others. That mindset comes because God’s priorities have replaced your priorities, giving you a duty to meet God’s needs.
“How can the God Who created the universe have needs? In Jesus’ description of the final judgment, He commends some, saying, “I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:35,36). The “I” to whom Jesus was referring was Himself, identifying Himself with the world’s greatest needs. And God’s needs are the needs of the world for compassion, decency, and holy living. So meeting those needs is how you go about your Master’s business.”
