Eastertide
April 1, 2016

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4-8

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. –Revelation 1:8

The old adage “There is nothing certain but death and taxes” is an incomplete truth at best. God is the only certainty. Once we incorporate that reality into our being, we are freed from the chains of death and, well taxes too, perhaps, I happen to be one of those rare birds who believes paying taxes is one of the responsibilities of being a good citizen. I like to drive on roads, have safe drinking water, have fire and police protection at my call, and know that all my fellow citizens have their basic needs met including health care. While I long for the day when our soldiers are primarily dispatched to provide protection and to intercede in times of disaster, I want them to be adequately paid and supported whenever they are called to duty. Thus I have no problem paying my fair share of taxes.

Trusting in the constancy of God is the key to ordering our lives, getting our priorities straight. Someone sent me a poem recently that listed all the things we routinely see as priorities that have no meaning whatsoever once we die. So why are we investing so much of our lives in them? I have recently spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get my digital life in order. Changing cell phone providers is not for the faint of heart. Hopefully it was time well spent to help me order my life better from this moment forth, I am not sure right now whether it was or wasn’t.

So how do we incorporate God’s constancy into our lives? We do that by making God our Alpha and our Omega, lifting God to the position of first priority and last priority allowing everything else to fall into its proper place.

Prayer: Lord, order my life so that I may thrive as a servant in your kingdom and know the full joy of living in your way and your truth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.