Always
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing My recompense with Me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:12-13
The days, weeks, and months have gone by like a whirlwind. Can you believe it?
This often entails double-checking the calendar to ensure our dates are correct. All of this brings me to the crux of this devotion. I believe it’s time to express gratitude to Dionysius Exiguus.
So, who is Dionysius Exiguus? I’m pleased you inquired.
His name means “Dennis, the Small” or “Dennis, the Short” or, in all probability, “Dennis, the Humble.”
Dennis is significant due to an idea that impacted all of Western civilization. Indeed, until the sixth century, the Western calendar was oriented around a pivotal date: the founding of Rome.
Dionysius Exiguus rightly believed that the founding of a decaying city paled in significance to the Savior’s arrival in the world.
Moreover, Dionysius recognized that whereas Rome’s dominion was founded and perpetuated through violence and warfare, Jesus’ reign was established in the hearts and souls of people through His exemplary life, selfless sacrifice, and triumphant resurrection.
With these considerations in mind, Dionysius conducted extensive research and reformed the calendar. Jesus’ birth became the turning point in history, designating subsequent occurrences as either “before Christ” (BC) or “Anno Domini” (AD), which translates to “in the year of our Lord.” (AD).
The only downside of the story is this: while Dionysius was great at producing innovative ideas, he was bad at arithmetic. It was only after his new calendar had been adopted and used throughout the Western world that somebody bothered to check his math. Sure enough, it was found wanting. Dionysius had made a mistake of about four or five years, which means Jesus was born four or five years earlier than his predictions.
This is just a roundabout way of saying that in the news media, with all its anticipated and unknown events stretching out before us, it is right for us to remember just who is in control of time and eternity.
The Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier remain at the helm, in control. Through His grace, mercy, and love, He assures us of His constant presence with every tick of the clock and turn of the calendar page. “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Who could make such a declaration? Who is capable of such omniscience? “I am with you always!” Only the one who is “the Alpha and the Omega,” “the First and the Last,” “the Beginning and the End,” the eternal one, has such an ability.
And no, I haven’t overlooked the secularists, historical revisionists, and advocates of political correctness who are promoting the use of Common Era and Before the Common Era (CE/BCE) terminology. No matter which letters you like to use, something still happened 2,000 years ago that changed the calendar. (Jeremiah 23:27-a)
Either way you write it: Jesus is the center of all history and the center of all your todays and tomorrows. He is with you right now and will be with you throughout the remaining months of this year. He is in control. He will be with you when you’re down and out; he will be with your going-in and coming-out. Whether you feel most alone in the darkness or the twilight, he is with you.His capable hands guide every step you take. To Him, mountain tops and valleys are all the same. He is the Almighty God, filling all eternity. Beneath us, His wings of love abide, no matter where life’s road takes us or whatever tests we may face.
Sometimes we must soldier on through the thundering night as the darkness seems to cling to our very soul. As the morning wings of the dawn bring forth a new day, his strength renews our spirits day by day. So, stay close to Him, for the closer you are to his light, the further you are from the darkness of this world. Remember him in the little things, like the soothing of your wounds, and in the big things, like sickness, facing death, and your mortality.
As creation strives for perfection, so do we, but like creation, we will never get there on our own. The mystery of death, the mystery of pain and suffering, is to each one of us a timeless mystery that we cannot understand. There are seasons in our lives when we are all crushed and tormented beneath the grinding wheels of time and chance. Like wild animals, these mysteries are not respectable. Nevertheless, we know that in him we have a boundless and endless life that will never die. By the power of his infinite being, he lifts us from the fathomless ocean of despair above the earthly clouds of doubt.
One day, the birth of time will be no more, and suffering will be no more. No more falling stars, no more troubled seas, no more thorns and thistles, no more hawks and doves, no more warring nations; just ultimate, infinite, absolute paradise; north, south, east, and west, with the universal Christ ruling overall. Reaching that blissful goal is worth it all.
Only In-Him will it be “Always!”
The Best Us Yet To Be!
Dr. Robert Bryant