God is like Pi (π)…

Today is Pi Day. For those of you who don’t know what that is, or even what the point of it is, let me explain. Today, March 14th, also known as 3/14, is Pi Day, simply because of the numbers 3.14 the equivalent value for Pi. It is also Albert Einstein’s birthday. Pi Day is observed by math junkies everywhere because of the importance of Pi in life all around us. I have celebrated in the festivities for several years now. So, in observance of Pi Day…

One day some friendsand I were talking about how difficult it can be for an unbeliever to understand how, with all that happens in this life, there could be a God that loves us. After all, if he loved us, why would he allow for such things to happen as sickness, famine, natural disasters, murder, and trouble with the economy, to name a few. We talked about how, just as with Job, we can do all the right things for all the right reasons, and still there are times that we have to go through very difficult, trying and sorrowful times. We were talking about how God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. After our discussion, I continued to chew on those thoughts, and being the math geek that I am, I began to realize how much God is like Pi!

For those of you who aren’t very familiar with Pi, or π, it is a wonderful number! π ≈ 3.14159265359… or 3.14 as we learn in school. Perhaps the most elementary uses of π are in the area and circumference of circles. While it is used in math classes everywhere, it is not a new discovery. Pi was discovered as many as 4000 years ago. Many different civilizations were intrigued with the number that would later (in the 1700s) become known as π. For centuries, men have been intrigued with it, to the point of obsession. Over 1 trillion digits have been computed, but still the number continues! So here’s a math lesson for you!

Pi is one of the most famous of irrational numbers. We call it irrational because it cannot be written as a fraction. Now in human terms, rational is what “makes sense” based on facts, expectations or logic. So irrational is what cannot be explained by reason or understanding. That is exactly like God. Because His ways are not our ways, we cannot logically understand His plan or His motives. To us, He often appears to be very irrational, but we must remember: “’For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord; ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.’” When a number is irrational, it never repeats and never ends. Just like God. He was and is and is to come…!

Pi is also transcendental. I know that sounds sort of “new age”, but remember, we’re talking math here! A transcendental number is a number to which “no finite sequence of algebraic operations on integers (powers, roots, sums, etc.) can be equal to its value (thank you wikipedia!).” That is how God is! No matter how hard we try, no thing, no person, no idea, no religion, no power, no force, nothing in all of creation, can be equal to His value! He is God, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present. He has no roots! Just as men have been intrigued with Pi and trying to understand it, so is mankind intrigued with discovering the “higher power” or “force” or “being” that is God!

Pi is at work in everything around us, from nature to art to architecture to statistics to geometry and beyond. So is its Creator! It isn’t by chance that everything works together in patterns and sequences. God is a God of order, though we don’t always understand it at the time. He seeks to involve us in His work. He wants to take us to another level; to broaden our perspective; to increase our knowledge of Him; for us to be obsessed with Him. Many people give their lives to the work of Pi, but we have the opportunity to give our lives to the ultimate irrational, transcendental, “constant” of all times… Life spent with Him is much more fulfilling than that of a silly old number!