by David Melton
College work seems to work in stages. Prospective students may make an inquiry which gets them a lot of information about Boston. They may then complete an application, and once that process is completed they get accepted. But many college students get accepted at several colleges. We always keep a keen eye on when someone confirms acceptance by putting some money down. That’s a good sign. Of course, a better sign is when they pull up in the parking lot to register and move in. That makes you enrolled.
Students are not the only ones who have changes in status. Donors usually make a commitment and in our tracking, we love that. But when the commitment changes to received, our banker likes that.
In higher education, we have many layers of oversight, whether from our state board of education, our accrediting association, or the Feds down in D.C. Actions can be proposed or in process or, better yet, completed!
Jesus’ ministry started out, from our perspective, as a promise. For thousands of years, people like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Daniel believed and waited. In Bethlehem, he arrived. On Calvary, Jesus moved the status to finished! Yet on Easter Sunday, our one-and-only Lord went one step further. He stood time and history and all human reality on its head and gave it the ultimate heave-ho. Death — that fierce old monster — took a mortal blow. Jesus would not be contained in the grave; He is eternally in the present tense. I can’t really think of a status for the resurrection, because it’s never been needed for anybody but our matchless, loving, living Savior. Let’s say we just list Him as “Jesus” and leave it at that!