The Names of God: Alpha & Omega
Meg Chaney
“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
Have you ever sat and thought about it? It can be hard for our earthly minds to even start understand it. God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 tells us that He separated the light from the darkness, the heavens from the earth. He brought it all into being. Here on earth we have a limited lifespan. A certain amount of time that we are here, and then we’re gone. God arches over this time. He was here at the beginning of time all the way to the end of eternity (which has no end!). He lives outside of time as we can understand it. Because He created time. In His power He created everything we know and love. John 1 tells us how Jesus, the Word, was with God in the beginning as well:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
In Him was life. Don’t you love that? Without Jesus, there’s no life. There’s no promise. God, as the Alpha & Omega reminds us that we serve someone so much bigger than ourselves. Our lives here can feel so draining. Some days, we cry out for change, wondering if the pain will ever end. But our great God reminds us that, while we are limited by a time span on this earth (40, 50, 80 years?), He is not limited by time at all. He has the bigger picture in mind. And so, God as the Alpha & Omega is actually a very comforting thought. We can’t fully grasp just how big a God He is, but we know He isn’t limited by this world. We see only a part, He sees the world. Our promise? Revelation tells us that we will get to drink of a living water. He will be our heritage, and we will spend eternity with Him, as our Sons and Daughters. The Alpha & Omega already knows how the story will end. And He knows that there really isn’t an end to the story at all. Yes, sin has already been vanquished. Yes, for the moment, we still feel the effects of that sin in this damaged world. But Yes, we get to look forward to a glorious eternity up ahead. The Alpha & Omega can already see the future that we cannot yet see. He sees us, in eternity with Him. And that gives me hope today.