Infinity

My brother-in-law bought a beautiful Curtis-Mathes TV set in around 1962.  And each night that Ben Casey (a TV show about a doctor with the same name) came on, we'd cluster around the black and white TV for another episode.

At the start of each show, the all-knowing doctor teacher played by Sam Jaffe already at that time old wrote on a blackboard.  The symbols he wrote were:  Man, woman, birth, death, infinity.  I couldn't take my eyes off it, and was especially drawn to the symbol for infinity.  Two circles intertwined with one another.  A journey, a pathway, a never-ending course.

We humans struggle with the concept of infinity, for everything we know and are familiar with has a beginning and an end, starting with us.  And while we come upon that reality at a relatively young age, it is not a welcome concept. 

A beloved family pet that had seen many sunrises and sunsets and had slowed down just a little bit at a time until one day the life was gone.  That little tree in the backyard that came from a seed and grew strong and straight, that seemed permanent, didn't fare well when the lightning bolt came out of the sky and split it.  Beginnings and endings.  It's the rhythm of life as we know it.

Yet, we who believe in Jesus Christ celebrate that he overcame death, that he rose and that he is forever.  A God who is infinite -- who is and was and always will be.  And while we celebrate, I think each and every one of us grapples with the concept of forever.  Each one of us tries to imagine a God who always was. 

And then the next leap of faith is trying to understand paradise, and wondering at it all.  That we are given the chance, the choice, to be with this magnificent Creator forever. 

I don't know about you, but a lot of times it just seems that I should be doing a lot more about sharing that message.  I want EVERYONE to know God, to love God, and to serve God, so that they can also share heaven.  Lent is coming, although this year Easter is late among the possible dates.  And this year we celebrate Easter with our Eastern Orthodox brethren. 

So what can we do?  We can pray!  We can be an example.  We can make sacrifices for others.  We can respect, care for, and assist others.  We can let the light of Christ shine through us. 

When we read the fairy tales that so often end, "And they lived happily ever after," it is an early reassurance to children that something good will come.  Or maybe we just want to reassure ourselves.  Isn't life interesting?

Quote for today:  Man sees your actions, but God sees your motives.
-Thomas a Kempis