Alpha

In ancient times, a great king set out to find out what was before God. And a simple shepherd decided to help him find the answer to this difficult question. So the shepherd suggested,

“Start counting out loud, my lord.”

The king was perplexed by the request, but started the count nonetheless, “One, two, three…”

“No, no, your majesty!” interrupted the shepherd, “Please start before one!”

“How can I start before one?” burst the king angrily. “There is nothing before one, and to start counting, you have to begin with one”.

“You answered correctly, your majesty! And it is the same with God, before God nothing existed,” answered the shepherd.

And this is absolutely true![1]

“Alpha” is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, all the other letters follow in their due order. No wonder that in the Bible, the Lord God compares Himself to this letter:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13)

By saying this, our Creator shows us that it is He who is the beginning and the end of all creation. Everything that exists in the world, all visible and invisible, all bright and dark, all light and heavy, all spiritual and physical, all of it depends on the Almighty, and comes only after God in its due order.

Problems start when we reverse that order. For instance, one Saturday a friend of ours might not find the time to read the Bible because he might be busy with some urgent chores. That day their “Alphabet of Priorities” started with the letter C (chores) instead of always starting with God. And what happened to the letter Alpha? It was pushed to second place by all the chores. In other words, that day our friend showed disrespect to their Creator who is always worthy of the first place. What needs to be done when this happens? We need to sincerely repent and make time for God. Repentance is giving God the first place and making Him again the Alpha of our alphabet of life. Give God the first place, then everything will fall into place!

· Today in your life what pushes God to second place? Please share.

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But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:33, NIV)

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[1] Based on a story from the website http://www.nauka.bible.com.ua/mif/m1-07.html (accessed January 16, 2021)