TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!

    Those are the infamous words repeated by Buzz Lightyear in the movie series "Toy Story".   The phrase is a bit of an oxymoron in that there is technically nothing beyond "infinity".   Infinity can never be defined or limited such that you can ever go beyond it.  Make up any large number with any number of zeros after it and all you have to do is add 1 more zero and you have a number 10 times larger than the one before it.

Let me illustrate:

      You say this is large number: 

                   1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

       But add a zero on the end and it becomes: 

                 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

        As soon as you think you have the largest number possible, I can make a larger one.  

     Infinity is a problem mathematicians have had to grapple with over the centuries.  As they study various mathematical functions and theorems the question always arises: 

                    "What happens when X goes to infinity?"   

     The solution to the problem may work for reasonably small values of X but may not work for problems were X is very large. Because of this many of their theorems have "clauses" written into them that limit the use of their purpose to "when X is small" or "X is between 0 and 1". 

      Infinity is difficult for humans to grasp.  We are finite humans.  We live in finite worlds, with finite bodies, with finite life-spans and have finite physical and mental capabilities. So how do you grasp something that has no beginning and also no ending?  Because we can't, we tend to limit the universe in some way to suit our finite limitations. 

     We also do this with God's love and grace. We think God's answer to sin (his grace) only works for small bounded problems like those math theorems.  We think to ourselves, "Well that may work for someone who hasn't committed any major sins or has lived a fairly descent life, but not for someone like me!"  

     But Paul writes:

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

     In Romans 5:20 he also writes:

The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

     Only through God's Holy Spirit can we even attempt to know the infinite love of God in Christ. Like the large number you thought was a big number , only to have a bigger number made by adding a zero at the end so also is God's grace towards you.

     Then why should I stop sinning if God's grace expands to infinity?

     The problem is not with God but with us.  Because we may say God's love is infinite our finite selves reject this notion as it applies to us.  Oh it may apply to "others" but we often view ourselves as having a unique place in God's Kingdom that is outside of God's grace.  Because we will ultimately limit the grace God can supply, we will run out of it by constantly sinning or committing a sin which we view as too great for God to forgive.  (this is why we ask God to "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil") 

     This was the case of Judas.  We will never know the reason why Judas betrayed Jesus.  It might have been out of anger or frustration with Jesus not being the "Mighty Messiah" to kick the Romans out.  Who knows!  Often we get too caught up in the "Why did he do it?" and not the "Why did he kill himself?".  Judas spent 3 years with Jesus. He heard all his sermons. He saw all of his miracles.  He even participated in those miracles when he was sent out 2 by 2 to the local towns.  He saw Jesus forgive the sins of countless people, but Judas believed he had done something so egregious that God could not forgive him.  Peter denied Jesus to a little girl within ear shot of Jesus.  His sin was just as bad as Judas.  The difference is in their perception of God's love to them.  I believe 100% that Judas would have been forgiven by Jesus just as Peter was forgiven.  After all, didn't Jesus forgive the men standing below the cross who had lied to put him there?  If he could do that to them, he would surely have done it for Judas as well.

      Maybe you have done something you thought you would never ever do.  Maybe you think you are outside of God's grace in Jesus Christ.   Let me tell you that you are not.  Whenever you feel this way just remember this:

GOD'S LOVE IS "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!"