THE GLORIOUS NAMES OF JESUS REPRINT OF AMOS R. WELLS 1926

THE GLORIOUS NAMES OF JESUS
REPRINT OF AMOS R. WELLS 1926

CHAPTER 9 – The Alpha And The Omega

Something To Consider:
In ascribing to Jesus Christ, the exalted titles of the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, Christians imply that He is the Lord of all things. And by doing so, they declare that Jesus is the beginning of things, the end of things, and all in between. It is, therefore, another comprehensive name of Jesus.

We think so often of the Savior as the Man of Galilee, that it is hard to think of Him as the Ancient of Days, the Creator, with the Father in the beginning, He whom without nothing was made that was made.

We have gazed so long upon the Redeemer as He hung upon the cross outside the walls of Jerusalem, that we find it difficult to realize that He is also the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

We localize Him in place and time, and that is well; that is why He was incarnated, that we might do that very thing, that He might become Immanuel, God with us. But in the process, we are likely to narrow our thoughts of Him, and sadly miss the infinite scope that lies within the Scriptures to fully comprehend.

Something Else To Consider:
When we really grasp the truth that our Lord is Alpha, that He is the First, the Beginning, then our life is for the first time rightfully fixed on true realty. Other foundation can no man lay than that. It is a foundation that reaches down to the lowermost and out to the uttermost.

Thus, a firm foundation built, the rain may descend, and the floods may come, and the hurricane strength winds may blow and beat upon our house of true Christian experience, for our faith and our trust is firmly founded upon the rock of Christ Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega.

It is a wonderful start for any day, to rest our hope and agendas upon this Alpha. If our early moments are spent with Christ, and in His Word, and His will is the basis for the purpose of the day, then through all its hours we shall move strongly and serenely, and we shall reach the evening hours happy, peaceful, and successful in the eyes of our Alpha and Omega. Any other beginning means a day of confusion, indecision, doubt, and failure.

It is also a wonderful beginning in any enterprise to be founded upon Jesus Christ and the principles of His holy Word. For if we consult Him in the beginning, then we can be assured that He will direct us in the venture and share in its toil. If He is the Alpha of whatever involves us, then He will also be the Omega, and its reason for becoming fruitful. There is no certainty in life’s work apart from Jesus.

Something More To Consider:
All this is not in any way derogatory to the glory and honor of God. He is the everlasting Father, that is, the Father of Eternity, but He shares that splendor with the Son. As Paul proclaimed; “Christ is the beginning; for it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him [in Jesus] should all the fulness dwell.”

Therefore, we think of both the Father and the Son as the Alpha and the Omega. It is just as necessary to think of Christ as the end of an enterprise as the beginning of it. To begin with Jesus is a matter of insight and decision, to end with Him is a matter of perseverance.

This title is like that other noble title of Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is to no purpose that we begin with Jesus, our day, our task, and our life. To write worthily the true book of our life we need A and we need Z, and we need all the letters in between. In other words, we need Jesus, our Alpha and our Omega, the Author and Finisher of our enduring to the end faith.

Most men, women, and young people are much too occupied with starting things or with keeping them up and running, that they do not take sufficient time and proper concerns to look ahead to the goal. Sometimes in mid-life many wake up from their folly with the sad questions: “What is to be the end of all this? What is the good of it? What shall I think of it a thousand years from now? Shall I or anyone else think of it at all? In spite of my frantic toil and anxiety, am I not throwing my life away?”

A Few Final Words:
Such misgivings never occur to anyone that finds his or her goal is in Christ Jesus. If he or she lives for Christ then their end will be heralded by Jesus Himself, by His stating, “Well done good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, enter into the joy of your Lord.” Therefore, they will know that their life was truly spiritually profitable and certainly worthwhile.

With no regrets, this individual looks ahead with expectant hope to the time when he or she will be with their Lord forever. By being with the Lord and allowing Him to be involved in their earthly lives, they will find His eternal communion to be delightful.

When we say that Jesus Christ is our all in all, we are admitting that He is our Alpha and our Omega, our First and our Last. We are acknowledging that there is no joy, no hope, and no ambition that is outside of Him. If our lives are based upon Jesus, all employment, all relationships, every possession, and every earthly and heavenly reward is ours forever.

Let’s Pray:
Our Father in heaven, how glorious are the names of Jesus. How refreshing it is to be found looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. How enlightening it is to study the depths of riches discovered in understanding Jesus to be our Alpha and our Omega, the First and the Last of all things that pertain to life and godliness. In Him Always, Amen!