We all need a "burning bush" to disrupt our lives and explode our paradigms of God. As we encounter God we see he is both absolutely holy and loving. He speaks to us through Christ, who was consumed in the fire for us.

Jesus tangles with the beliefs of the most scrupulous scripture readers, the Pharisees. He argues that Scripture is divine testimony but that it is still possible to believe this testimony as true and be as deaf to what God is saying as if you had no faith at all. The purpose of the entire Bible is to point us to Jesus. Each story is not an end in itself but the means to illuminate the Son.

What does it mean for Jesus to be the alpha and the omega? When we see him as "alpha," we see him as God. We understand who we are in the light of knowing that we are beings created by and for God. When we see him as "omega," we cease to use Jesus as a means to a greater end. Instead, Jesus himself becomes our greatest end.

The Christian understanding of hell gives us insight into the danger of our own hearts. It also gives us resources to live in peace in the world, and to know the love of God who suffered hell for us.