How would you describe God? Can we even begin to describe God who is unknowable and incomprehensible in his greatness? To help us have a faint inkling of who he is and what he is like God speaks to us through the Bible. The Bible is God's message to us, recorded by messengers and prophets moved by the Holy Spirit. Then, to top it off, God's word became flesh in the life of Jesus. Jesus walked and talked among us, demonstrating the character of God through his sacrificial life on earth. 

The Bible says that God is love. Jesus told us that there is no greater love than to give one's life for a fellow human and proceeded to give his life for us, demonstrating that there is indeed no love greater than God's love. Now for just a preposterous moment let's assume that this love, God's love and God's character could be described by some formula. Where would you begin? How can something as elevated and abstract as love, the very nature of God, be reduced to a mundane, simplistic mathematical formula? And what would be the point? Obviously no formula can presume to represent God's nature. Nevertheless, if a simplistic formula can help our limited minds better understand at least part of God's character then it will have served a useful purpose. 

The only mathematical concept that comes even close to describing God is infinity. Infinity is a concept that is unattainable and impossible to encompass or quantify. It is impossible to add enough numbers to reach infinity. It is impossible to multiply enough numbers to reach infinity. It is even impossible to reach infinity by using exponential powers. Infinity is always bigger than the biggest thing we can contrive. The only formula that can describe infinity is an arithmetic taboo. We all know that we're not supposed to divide by zero. Dividing by zero produces an infinitely large number that cannot be measured, quantified or described--a mathematical error. If we divide by a very small number the result is a very large number. If we divide by any even smaller number the result is even larger. As the denominator approaches zero the result approaches infinity. Could dividing by zero, which we're not supposed to do, tell us anything at all about God whose nature is infinite and indescribable?

An observation we might make is that God seems to be willing and able to do what no one else dares do. We all know that dividing by zero is a mistake, an impossibility. God seems to know better. As the Bible says, the wisdom of man is foolishness to God and God's wisdom is foolishness to man. But what does it mean (in non-mathematical terms) to divide by zero--to have zero as the denominator and anything else as the numerator? We know that the denominator is the number on the bottom of a fraction. When working with fractions it is helpful to find a common denominator to facilitate calculations. In non-mathematical terms the dictionary definition of denominator is that which denominates or that from which a name is derived. What denominator do we all have in common? As incredibly different as we are one from another, what name do we all share? Our physical, emotional, social, economic, mental and spiritual attributes are all over the map. And yet, we all have "self" in common. Self is the common denominator, the attribute that we all share. 

You can probably already tell where I'm going with this. If self is the common denominator of all sentient beings, then dividing by zero is tantamount to making yourself as nothing--which is precisely what Jesus did. Dividing by zero then becomes a mathematical way of describing the selfless love that is synonymous with God's infinite and incomprehensible character. We can't graph a formula that divides by zero but we can graph the formula y = 1/x with x being anything from a very large number (in which case the value of y approaches zero) to a very small number (in which case the value of y approaches infinity). This concave curve, that approaches zero in one direction and infinity in the other, has a mirror image in the opposite quadrant if negative values are used for x. So now we have a two dimensional curve on paper that could be used to describe the results (y) of both selflessness (a small denominator approaching zero) and selfishness (a large denominator approaching infinity), and everything in between. 

Fortunately, life is more than just two dimensions. In terms of spatial dimensions we talk about height, width (or breadth) and depth. Height corresponds to the y-axis, breadth corresponds to the x-axis and depth corresponds to the z-axis in a three dimensional spatial grid. The Bible speaks of the height and breadth and depth of God's love. What would this look like mathematically and what would it mean in practical terms? If we plot out the formulas y = 1/x; x = 1/y; y = 1/z; z = 1/y; z = 1/x and x = 1/z for all values of x, y and z, the resulting three dimensional graph is something that looks like a concave, six-pointed star whose points reach out to infinity in both directions along the x, y and z-axes. This might represent the height and breadth and depth of both selflessness and selfishness. But what do these dimensions of height, breadth and depth actually represent? 

Height usually makes one think of success, prosperity, victory--the mountain top experiences of life. Depth is often associated with despair, failure, tragedy--the valley experiences of life. It is one thing to be selfless on the throne of heaven, it is quite another to be selfless on a cross. The widow's mites in adversity demonstrate a dimension of selflessness that is very different than a much larger offering given from prosperity. Similarly, survival-driven selfishness demonstrated in adversity demonstrates are very different dimension of selfishness than the greed-driven selfishness of prosperity. Somewhere between the height and depth, between the mountain tops and the valleys, is the breadth of existence where we spend most of our time in day to day living. Being selfless or selfish in the mundaneness of everyday life demonstrates a dimension of selflessness or selfishness which is entirely different than that seen on the mountain tops or in the valleys. Can we be selfless in all of these dimensions of living? Jesus showed us that God is indeed selfless in all these dimensions. The height and depth and breadth of God's love is infinite and surpasses understanding in every dimension. 

Are there any other dimensions we should consider? Time, often referred to as the fourth dimension, is another aspect of our finite existence and of God's eternal existence that can demonstrate either selflessness or selfishness. God's unchanging character is one of selfless love stretching from eternity past into future eternity. How we behave over time, whether selflessly or selfishly, demonstrates another dimension of our characters. Some people even consider frequency to be a dimension. It is the dimension of frequency that does not allow us to see light waves that are infrared or longer, allows us to enjoy the visible light spectrum and prevents us from seeing light waves that are ultraviolet or shorter. It is the dimension of frequency that does not allow us to hear infrasonic waves or longer, enables us to enjoy speech and music and stops us from hearing ultrasonic waves or shorter. The frequency of rotation of a propeller makes it easily visible at very low speeds, invisible at high speed and makes it take on the appearance of a solid wall at ultra-high speed. Frequency is a dimension that alters our perception in ways that change our reality. The frequency of our selfless or selfish thoughts and actions is another dimension of our characters. God is continually thinking good thoughts toward us and doing good things for us. The frequency of God's selflessness is beyond our ability to perceive; it is a dimension of God's character that is beyond time, beyond adversity, beyond prosperity and beyond everyday existence. The infinite frequency of God's goodness and selflessness can only be approximated by dividing by zero. 

If the basis of God's character of infinite love is selflessness can we ever be like God? Can self become as nothing and allow us to divide by zero? Can we die for our fellow man? Can we be selfless in prosperity, in adversity, in everyday life, over time and with ever increasing frequency? It is only as we are humbled by God's infinite greatness in every dimension that we can draw closer to him. Can we measure the height and depth and breadth and time and frequency of God's love? There is truly no greater love. Do the math.