He mediates up

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
-Luke 12:13-14

When I read the above passage, which is a segway into a parable Jesus tells his followers about how they need to be avoiding greediness, I was struck by something in those two lines: Jesus mediates between us and God, not between us and those around us.

So, why are we constantly trying to use Christ as a bat to beat those around us into line?

aftermath

The path is littered today with broken limbs, leaves and swirled dirt. A storm of some power came through. At places, water covers the path. At others, trees lay across it. But for those who know the path, it is still navigable.

going out

"Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

-J. R. R. Tolkien