Did Christ Have Bad Timing?

Driving home to Madison from my parent’s house in Lake Geneva, I found myself drifting into thoughts I don’t typically catch myself having. Perhaps it was the insane amount of coffee I had consumed, or the Christmas songs I had playing at full blast in my car. Whatever caused the meanderings of my thoughts—the consensus they seemed to come to was startling to me.

The fact that I started to think about Christianity while listening to holiday music is no jump of imagination, but where I went from there wasn’t exactly pleasant. I found myself tracing time from when Jesus came to earth over two thousand years ago, to the modern day. I looked at the wonderful things Jesus did, and the horrible things that have been done in his name. I thought of how he spoke of loving neighbors, no matter how different. I remembered the story of him saving the woman who would have been stoned to death. With all of these thoughts I began to wonder where Christianity went so wrong.

Jesus was a strong leader. He spoke of love, tolerance, and faith. He lived simply and shared everything he had with his friends and with strangers that didn’t necessarily share his beliefs. I wonder what he would have said to the forced faith that was shoved upon Native Americans with the choice of Christianity or death. Would he have said anything? I think he may have just shook his head, and wondered what had happened to the loving souls he had died for.

Maybe Jesus came too early. Perhaps if he had come in the early 1800’s to America, things would have been different. Yet, I think he still would have been killed for doing the horrible deed of spreading love and hope. Societies don’t ever take kindly to those who speak truth with love in their eyes.

Where and when would have been a good time for Jesus to appear? Does one exist?

Perhaps he came too late. Maybe if he’d been there when Mesopotamia was formed. If he’d appeared the very instant consumerism started to take hold. Maybe if he had told man that being nomads was the only way to peace—that greed would corrupt every soul the second they settled down into one place. Even then, would anyone have listened?

Maybe then, there was no better option than the time that he was born into. Messiah or not, he changed lives and history forever. Perhaps, even the son of God cannot change more than several generations of hearts.

Where does that leave us? If even someone as prophetic as Christ cannot change things for more than 100 years before they again become corrupt—do we stand a chance at all? In a society where we are shunned for saying Merry Christmas—a culture where people call themselves Christians while declaring war on those who are different—is there any hope of redemption?

I have shown you in every way by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.
-Acts 20:35