Do you know what the largest number that has any sort of application in mathematics is? It’s called Graham’s number, and it’s absolutely massive – so massive, in fact, that you wouldn’t be able to write down this number because the universe doesn’t have enough room for you to write it – even if you wrote each digit smaller than an electron (try it – you won’t come even close :)). The only way you can represent this number is by using special notation created by Donald Knuth – father of computer science, still alive, and a devout Lutheran.

When I first read about this number, being the number geek I am I was boggled by the sheer magnitude of this number. Another example is the lottery jackpot couple of months ago – obviously not a number anywhere as big as Graham’s number, but to consider such a number as money that one could win (and how it’d be spent!) was something I could hardly comprehend. But we know that these numbers, as massive as they are, are nothing compared to the number of days we’ll spend with God after death! Sadly, the magnitude of “eternity”, infinitely more grander than some lottery jackpot or Graham’s number, seems to be lost on a lot of us, including myself.

And it’s not too surprising – the word is used almost 50 times in the KJV Bible and I’ve heard it used countless times in sermons. And if we’re constantly exposed to anything, it starts to wear off on us. This doesn’t just apply to eternity, but characteristics of God, His creation, and what He has given to us as well: The magnitude of His glory and wisdom. The magnitude of His love for us, projected by the magnitude of Jesus’ death on the cross needed to cover the magnitude of our wickedness and sinful nature. Even the magnitude of the heavens that He created is nothing short of majestic, as David also realized:

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” – Psalms 8:3-5

When I consider such magnitudes, it doesn’t just fill me with awe but I also find it humbling. Especially when we live in an era where the greatness of man is proclaimed rather than God, pondering on this really keeps reality in check. While I can’t say I’ve had the best relationship with God lately, I pray that at least the magnitude of God and His glory never wears off on me, hoping to staying humble and in reverence before Him.

-Solomon

PS: If you want to know more about Graham’s number: [youtube http://youtube.com/w/?v=XTeJ64KD5cg]