Read: Revelation 22:1-13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (v. 13)
Have you ever read a story that ended so beautifully, you wanted to go back and reread the whole thing all over again? The best stories have endings that feel just right. As if the events told in that tale never could have ended in any other way.
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet; Omega the last one. When Jesus is named Alpha and Omega, it’s a little bit like being named “A to Z.” First and last. Beginning and end. Verses like John 1:3, Hebrews 1:2, and Colossians 1:16 tell us that Jesus was intimately involved in the creation of the world. Revelation 22, the very last chapter of the Bible, shows us that Jesus will be centrally present in its final design. Revelation paints a beautiful picture of “the river of the water of life . . . flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb . . . [And] on either side of the river, the tree of life . . . The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (vv. 1-2). In the end, Jesus will set all things to rights in the way that God has intended from the beginning.
When we realize that Jesus was present at the beginning of the story of creation, stepped into its middle, and will care for it in the end, we can trust that everything is going to come out all right. Like a good storyteller, God will not leave any plot elements unresolved. Jesus is Alpha and Omega.
As you pray, ask God to help you trust that our story has a happy ending.
About the Author
Sarah Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. She lives with her husband and their four teenage children in Oregon.
