Sunday, March 8, 2015

3.14

I am a numbers person. In my job, I reconcile numbers. In spreadsheets. In bank reconciliations. In funds and accounts.

Upon reflection, numbers are responsible for order in our world. Seriously. Think about it. Numbers make up our calendars. Our speed limits. Our currency. The seconds, minutes and hours in a day. Counting and mathematics are learned early and used in every day life.

Because of my fixation with numbers, I find it fascinating that, in a few short days, folks are celebrating a "day of the century." That's right. Saturday, March 14, 2015 is Pi Day. You'll remember pi from Geometry (incidentally, my worst high school subject) as the symbol  π. The significance of Saturday morning during the nine o'clock hour is spelled out by pi as 3.141592653 and is visualized in the shirt below:


photo by sunfrogshirts.com
Saturday aside, pi is equally mind-boggling for its numerical value. We typically know and shorten π to the numerical value of 3.14, but in reality, pi's decimal representation never ends and is never repeated. Simply stated, its end has never been found. Its decimal length is limitless.

That said, humans still feel the need to search for its end. Mathematicians cannot be satisfied with "not" knowing. With the aid of computers, scientific means have calculated the decimal length out into the trillions of digits. That's trillions.

And me? I'm a simple sort of person. I'm perfectly happy with the knowledge that pi equals 3.14. I know it to be true. It's been proven. I learned it in my Geometry class. I found it in my Geometry textbook.

God is a Christian's spiritual pi. Knowing him brings order to our world. His power if infinite. His boundaries are limitless. His love is beyond measure. Unfortunately, some humans try to put God in a box. They try to understand his boundaries. The need for knowledge outweighs faith.

Colossians 2 (The Message):
"You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve." 
And me? I have a simple faith. I know that having Jesus as my Savior equals life.  I know it to be true. It's been proven. I learned it in my home and in my church. I found it in my life's textbook - the Bible. Hebrews 11:1 confirms its simplicity: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

You don't need to figure out God. Just believe that he is. Jesus died for me. For you.

No God. No life. Know God. Know life.