Day 28 | Alpha and Omega
September 24, 2015 - WEEK FOUR
Paolo Veronese, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, [Public domain], via Wikipaintings.
DAILY READING
There is no scripture reading assigned today. Use this day to catch up as needed and ponder the supplemental reading.
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
I Am Alpha and Omega
These letters from the Greek suggest the universal role of Jesus from the beginning of the world to its end. But he ought to be Alpha and Omega in the particular as well—our personal beginning and our individual end—that model by which we shape our journey of three score years and ten, and the standard by which we measure it at its conclusion.
In every choice we make, he ought to be our point of reckoning, our charted course, our only harbor ahead. He should be for us individually what he is for all men collectively—the very brackets of existence, the compass of our privilege. We should not stray outside him. We should not want to try. I am Alpha and Omega…. Christ is not only Alpha and Omega, he is Alpha through Omega—complete, abiding, permanent, unchanged. As well as being before and after us, Christ will, if we choose, be with us….
Such a journey from beginning through present to end suggests a path, a course of travel, and Jesus said he was “the Way.” He did not say he would show the way (although he did): he said he was the way. (See John 14:6.) To travel here suggests something more than merely knowing the terrain, watching for pitfalls, and setting out at a brisk pace. It means all of that plus the sobering admission that we will need his merciful assistance for every step of the journey.
This particular way is impassable alone. He waits patiently for us while we rest. He encourages us when we murmur. He calls us back when we stray. Ultimately, he carries us on his shoulders, rejoicing, because we find the heights are too great and the waters too deep (see Luke 15:5). Only strict adherence—adherence in its most literal sense—to the Lord Jesus Christ will see us through, for there is “none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Whom Say Ye That I Am?” Ensign, September 1974, 6–12).
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
A Woman Touches Jesus’ Clothes
FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
- Was it Jesus’ clothes that healed the woman?
- Why did Jesus want to know who touched his clothes?