"First and Last"

 

“First and Last”

 

Since 1981 the Canadian board game “Trivial Pursuit” has been a popular source of entertainment at home and public gatherings (a “tournament” was conducted during our 2019 cruise during which Karen and I celebrated our 50^th anniversary). I enjoy sharing this mostly insignificant information with others in various contexts and sometimes find myself thinking in such terms. Such was the case recently when for some reason I began wondering about the first and last names alphabetically in a number of areas. With the help of Google, Wikipedia and a Bible dictionary here’s what I found:

U.S. Senate: First Joseph Abbott (NC, 1866-1872); last Edward Zorinsky (NE, 1976-1987).

U.S, House: First Fred Aandahl (ND, 1951-1953); last John Zwack (MN, 1967-1975).

Major League Baseball: First David Aardsma (a pitcher for eight teams 2004-2015); last Tony Zych (a pitcher for the Seattle Mariners 2015-2017).

National Football League: First Isaaho Aaitui (a defensive lineman for several teams 2011-2015); last Jim Zyntell (an offensive lineman for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles 1932-1935).

National Basketball Association: First Alaa Abdelnaby (a forward for several teams 1990-2000); last Matt Zunic (a guard for the Washington Capitols 1945-1949).

National Hockey League: First Antti Aalto (a center for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1997-2001); last Andrei Zyuzin (a defenseman for several teams 1997-2014).

Towns in the U.S.: First Abbeville, LA (there’s also one in SC); last Zuni Pueblo, NM.

Towns in Scripture: First Abdon (Joshua 21:30); last Zorah (Joshua 15:33).

People in Scripture: First Aaron (Israel’s first high priest); last Zurishaddai (Numbers 1:6).

The above are fun to know but mostly don’t matter much. But there’s one “First and Last” that has eternal significance. In the words of Jesus Himself, “I am the Alpha and the Omega…the First and the Last.” (Revelation 1:8,17, emphasis added). This is one of the 138 names and titles of our Lord I found in the New Testament and carries the thought that He’s always been and always will be. He had no beginning (“He existed before everything else began….”—Colossians 1:17, NLT), has no end (“He remains a priest forever….”--Hebrews 7:3, NLT) and “…He always lives to make intercession for (us). (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV). So let’s thank God for this “First and Last”, the One who really matters.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan