"God of the Middle"

 

“God of the Middle”

 

In “Beyond Christmas” I shared about a “story” I used to tell children: “Once upon a time they lived happily ever after.” I tried to get away with saying the “story” had a beginning and ending but only lacked something in the middle but it rarely if ever worked. (The late comedian George Burns once observed that a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending and to have the two as close together as possible.) But what’s between the start and finish matters and is often the most important. (See “The Dash” for an example.)

Karen and I recently read a devotional based on Revelation 22:13 where Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” We recalled a message on this passage by a pastor in South Carolina who emphasized what was between the extremes. Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet but there are 22 intervening ones. Communicating in Greek would be impossible without all 24 letters used in meaningful ways. Similarly, these bookends representing Christ’s eternal existence encase everything else He is and does. In other words, Jesus is the “God of the Middle”.

In “The Dash” I shared how that small mark on a tombstone represents a person’s life from birth to death. When it comes to Jesus, however, the “dash” between His being the Alpha and the Omega includes His life before Bethlehem (“…Before Abraham was born, I am!”—John 8:58); His coming to earth “…to find and restore the lost.”—Luke 19:10, TM); His death and resurrection (“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”—Romans 4:25); His return to earth (“…Jesus…will come back….”—Acts 1:11); and His reign (“…He will reign for ever and ever.”—Revelation 11:15).

The Apostle Paul states, “(Christ) existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.” (Colossians 1:17, NLT) and Luke echoes, “…His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:33, NLT). And we respond to the “God of the Middle” with Paul in 1 Timothy 1:17: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan