Prime Numbers

"Without father or mother, without beginning of days or end of life, like the son of God, he remains a priest forever." -Hebrews 7:3

My brother came to me after giving some thought to the properties of prime numbers. By definition, a prime number is a number that has no multiples other than itself and the number one. However, it becomes a multiple: it is not a product, but it starts a new and infinite series of products of which it is a multiple. Ordinary numbers are products of other multiples, but a prime number doesn't come from anywhere: it just "appears" as a seemingly new creation.

The interesting concept my brother presented then progressed to a discussion on a certain not-too-familiar character of the Bible, Melchizedek. My very introspective brother insisted Melchizedek was like a prime number because we are told he was, "without father or mother, without beginning of days or end of life." (Hebrews 7:3)

As my deep brother supported his view, he further proposed that most of us are a product of the past, meaning, our ancestry and upbringing have combined in complex ways to make us what we are, for better and for worse. He said, "Attempts at reform often prove difficult, for what we do will ultimately be an expression of what we are."

I could not deny my brother was right! His idea about prime numbers gave me some interesting food to mull over over the next few days, but the point he was trying to make was our Creator calling us to be as new creations! Never before had I seen this topic put in such a creative and beautiful light. What He wants to do in our lives is not reform us, but recreate us!

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" -II Corinthians 5:17

Believers in Jesus Christ need no longer be products of the past; the past need no longer detrimentally affect Christians at all for, Christ is far greater!

What Bible says about Melchizdek having no father or mother most likely refers to the fact he had no ancestral claim whatsoever on his roles as king and priest; he held those positions by grace and grace alone. Likewise, Believers have no claim, either by inheritance or by achievement, but God gives them the kingdom freely in His grace, through the blood of Christ. In Christ, victory over sin can be total, and like Melchizedek, each of us can become a prime number and a new creation in the kingdom of God!

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Contributed by Melanie Schurr (Copyright (c)2003 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living Ecstatic Loving: How to have more peace and joy in marriage, and life in general by walking in harmony with God," and "Son Salutations: A refreshing collection of modern inspirations for those who seek God each day." For more information, visit her web page at www.angelfire.com/mi/melschurr