If there is anything harder to visualize than God, it is the concepts of eternity and infinity. Yet, they are inexorably connected to each other and to God.

We can readily grasp the concept of God “the Father” as a parental figure. The parent is responsible for the child’s existence as well as providing guidance, education and discipline. Either as a parent, or as a child, we each have a concrete example to reference.

We can easily understand the concept of God, the creator. One who creates is ultimately an artist, the one who creates substance from an idea or visualization. To varying degree, each of us has had the experience of being the creator or the artist.

Infinity and eternity and their relationship to God are tougher to grasp.

Eternity is a vague concept that we employ when we find ourselves waiting for help in the hospital emergency room or frustrated by slow service at a restaurant when we are hungry. It is, after all, a reference to the passage of time.

Infinity is what we imagine to be the distance to the next rest stop on the highway when the child in the back seat announces a need for the bathroom just after we have driven past the last exit.

In those cases, (even if both are whimsical) we can make a logical connection, because we have personal, real-life experiences to reflect on and compare.

In real life, infinity suggests a distance that has no end point. Likewise, eternity suggests a time that has no end. We can’t truly understand these concepts because we have no actual frame of reference.

In both cases, we ultimately resort to mathematics to describe these concepts in terms we can at least begin to understand. We can visualize a count of six of an item (six eggs – half a dozen). If we add a zero to the original number we have multiplied it by a factor of ten. Two zeros indicates multiplication by one hundred.

As we approach numbers beyond our ability to visualize, we just keep adding zeros. Eventually, when even visualizing an enormous string of zeros become a burden, we need to invent an entirely new scale (light years). When even that scale becomes inadequate, we coin new terms – infinite, eternal.

Just as we cannot grasp exactly what God is, we cannot imagine a time without limits or a distance that has no end. It is simply beyond our ability because we are attempting to understand concepts that have no parallel in our human existence.

We might try to imagine the odor of the color blue, or the sound of a moment of time. We are limited by the experiences of our five senses, so we are unable to identify other possibilities even if they exist.

So, while we can accept the idea of God the Father or God the Creator, the picture of God the entity, is something we can never accomplish because we have no tools and no frame of reference.

And no amount of zeros will solve the puzzle.

So, it is understandable, and very human, to have trouble grasping the concept of an infinite, eternal, higher power that is responsible for all that exists. So, we should not feel guilty when we experience doubt.

God, who has no beginning and no end – how can we believe?

That is when faith comes into play.

And the ultimate level of faith is not just believing, but knowing – even when you can’t see, hear or feel what is true.