In “other” Words: Alpha and Omega

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“If we could understand everything God does, then He’d have to be a small god — small enough to fit in our little minds.” ~ Randy Alcorn ~

I remember sitting in church as a young child, hearing the pastor read Revelation 1:8 and being totally mystified:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Alpha and omega. Beginning and end. And everything between. I recall marveling at how far back the beginning must have been and contemplating how far into the future the end would be. Eventually, I would decide that those concepts were beyond anything I could understand and busy myself with something else.

As I grew, I studied math, of course. We learned the concept of infinity. From time to time we would attempt to solve an equation, only to learn that there was no definitive answer because the result was infinite, i.e., “the assumed limit of a sequence, series, etc., that increases without bound.” Invariably, I would be the student who tried to take the operation of the equation a couple more steps, only to realize that yes, there was no end in sight.

In college, I fulfilled a lower division science requirement by taking a basic astronomy course and again was confronted with the concept of infinity when trying to quantify the universe’s composition. There are infinite stars, galaxies, atmospheres . . . I was always intrigued by the idea that you could get into a spaceship and fly in any direction forever, never reaching the end of space.

When I think about how boundless and limitless the Divine Creator is, I realize that those memories form the basis for my concept of Yahweh, Jehovah, God . . . even the number of descriptive names we use is virtually endless, demonstrating yet again that the Spirit is not subject to any sort of limitation.

Have you ever told someone, “I just can’t get my head around” a concept or idea? When I’ve found myself feeling overwhelmed, confused, shocked, I have from time to time expressed my feelings by saying that or similar phrases such as “I can’t process it” or “it’s too much.” Because such a boundless life force cannot be constrained by our limited ability to appreciate and understand its inherent qualities, we cannot understand the rationale for all of the Divine’s actions. To fully understand everything the Divine does, we would have to be familiar with and analyze all aspects of the Divine’s existence which is, of course, impossible.

This is where the concept of faith comes into play. And that is, of course, not only a subject about which we could research and write infinitely, but for all of us in varying degrees at particular times in our lives, the most difficult to understand of the core precepts of belief. Like the apostles, we cry out, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5) We are admonished that living by faith is a sign of righteousness (Romans 1:17) and through faith we will be justified (Romans 3:28). And encouraged not to lose heart because what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

I don’t know about you, but it is extremely difficult for me to just accept things on face value, on faith. We live in the world and spend our days conforming to the world’s rules: Obtaining verification, proof, documentation, memorialization of events, facts, situations, circumstances.

Can you imagine going into a bank and securing a loan by merely telling the loan officer to have faith that you will repay the money? Or expecting a teacher to give you credit for taking a class by having faith that you learned the lessons presented, rather than requiring you to demonstrate your knowledge of the concepts covered? Would you want your doctor to perform surgery on you without first performing diagnostic tests and formulating a diagnosis, telling you to simply have faith in his/her assessment of your condition and belief that you need surgery? How absurd is the idea that a prosecutor could secure a conviction in a criminal proceeding by asking the jury to have faith in his/her conclusion that the defendant committed the crime rather than presenting unassailable evidence of his/her guilt?

Yet we are commanded to have faith in a God that we cannot see, cannot understand, cannot conceptualize using any familiar methodology. And to believe that, in all things, God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

Whew! I can’t wrap my head around all of it.

The good news is this: I don’t have to!

I question, I seek knowledge, I strive to understand, but do so within this contextual framework: The Divine Creator is the alpha and omega, the beginning and end, who is, who was, who is to come, the Almighty — not a small God at all, incapable of fitting into my limited consciousness. Life is frustrating and overwhelming at times, but my faith is renewed daily through grace and the confidence that “[n]ow we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)