Recently, I had breakfast with a friend, and as we talked about life and all its many problems and unanswered questions, I was reminded of a sign by the freeway where I live: In big neon letters, it says Jesus Is The Answer.

Why was I reminded of that sign? Because we kept returning to Him. The person of Christ. But what struck me most about that conversation was what we did not keep coming back to.

In the complexities and difficulties of life, it’s hard to keep in focus what our ultimate end is. The end, that is, according to God. For here, we constantly have all sorts of gaps between our present experience and our preferred state. So we pray, asking God to bring about what we want and desire.