JESUS CHRIST, the BEGINNING and the END

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely" (Rev 21:6). "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Rev 22:13).

Devotion 16 of 20

A RELATIVELY UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCE

Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). The near-total absence of this perception is of great concern to me. If Christ's effective power becomes operative in us when we are "weak," or recognize our own very real helplessness, then "self-help" schemes are of no permanent value. Christ is "the Beginning," or Source, not our strength! Paul recognized this, and gloried in the inadequacies of natural resources (2 Cor 12:9a). He knew if Jesus was "the Beginning," God would not honor any approach to life that excluded Him.

Any theological stance that allows the individual to proceed in dissociation from Christ is false. There are no valid beginnings without Jesus; either in nature or in grace. Also, in the Kingdom, the relegation of Jesus to a secondary position equates with His removal. Since God has given Him the preeminence, He cannot bless anyone who prefers to have Him elsewhere. This is why Jesus soundly denounced competitive influences, even when they were very close in the flesh. Hear His words, and relate them to Him being "the Beginning." "If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).

It is possible for ones own family to become a spiritual impediment. No thinking person wants this to happen, but every serious individual must acknowledge the possibility of such a circumstance. If this does occur, Jesus must be given the preeminence. He must become "all in all," or the Objective for which one lives. In this text, "his cross" refers to the willing abandonment of earthly priorities, including one's own life. It also includes the repercussion of faith, when those close to you refuse to accept you because of your faith. Taking up the cross is preferring Jesus to such people, and being willing to suffer the loss of their companionship. This is not a common view today, yet it is the only acceptable one. The reason for its rarity is that Jesus has not been perceived as preeminent--as the "all in all" for which one lives.

The new birth, the ultimate spiritual beginning, is accomplished by Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and by means of the Gospel. If it were not for Christ, the Holy Spirit would not be present, and there would be no Gospel! Those who require a new beginning (and that is everyone) must obtain it from Christ. Suffice it to say, those who seek Him and yield to Him, will find experientially that He truly is "the Beginning."

PRAYER POINT: Father, in Jesus name, grant me grace to shun anything and everything that does not begin with Him.

-- Tomorrow: THE END --