In a recent Bible study, the pastor had us meditate on an excerpt of Jeremiah 29:11: For surely I know the plans I have for you⌠to give you a future with hope (NRSV).

We were asked to identify the most important word in the verse. I started with hope, others started with give, one suggested, surely, someone else said, know. We talked through every word in the verse until not a single word was left without an advocate.
Every word, we concluded, was the most important.
Infinite Love
It reminded me of a message preached by Lisa Harper where she relayed a theology professorâs demonstration of Godâs infinite love:
He went around the room and looked each one of us in the eye. And he said, âGod is saying to you, âYou are my absolute favorite. I love you the most. You, Lisa Harper, I love you the most. You, {insert your name here} I love you the most.â And the most amazing thing is that itâs true, because in Godâs infinite love, each one of us is his absolute favorite. He can – and does – love each one of us the most.â
Itâs an interesting visualization for a term that can be tossed about too lightly. The idea of God speaking to each one of us as His most beloved points to the truth of the saying love multiplies as it is divided. Godâs love is not like a paper that shreds into smaller and smaller pieces. It is like a flame passed candle to candle. No matter how far it spreads, the light of that love grows rather than diminishes.
Infinite love.
Infinite Word
Just as each one of us is the most precious to God, every Word we encounter is the most precious to us. The more we study, the more we see. Like that flame racing across the page, Godâs word becomes a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Knowledge, guidance, comfort, reproof is given in situation after situation after situation. As Paul wrote to Timothy, âAll scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousnessâ (2 Timothy 3:16).
The knowledge of God is inexhaustible. The word of God contains the eternal nature itself.
âMy word will never pass away,â Jesus told his disciples.
Heaven and earth will pass away. Most things we know and strive for will pass away. We, in our mortal state, will pass away. But Godâs word â the presence, the promises, the power â will never pass away.
It is a message that repeats in all 3 synoptic gospels as well as in the Old Testament Psalms (119:89) and the major prophet Isaiah (40:8). Godâs Word is eternal.
Infinite word.
Infinite Game

In his 2019 book The Infinite Game https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/, Simon Sinek points out that the downfall of many companies (and individuals) is their finite mindset. They focus on this quarterâs profits, this yearâs annual report, this sectorâs winners and losers. To have real impact, Sinek argues, business leaders need to adopt an infinite mindset, where the goal is to build something that outlasts ourselves.
Simon introduces the 5 practices of an infinite mindset on his website where he builds upon the idea that the only competitor in an infinite game is us. In his introductory video he asks: âHow do we make our products better this year than they were last year, how do we make our systems better this year than they were last year, how do we make our culture stronger this year than it was last yearâŚâ
Thatâll preach.
Remove the business-ese for a moment and I think these are critical questions every one of us should be asking. How do we make our communities better this year than they were last year? How can we make our relationships better this year than they were last year? Can we make our faith stronger this year than it was last year?
We should not be asking, Am I better than someone else?
We should be asking, How do I keep improving?
Finite Resources
Iâm on board with developing a more infinite-focused mindset, but the reality is, Iâve got some limitations. Like, a lot of limitations. Time, energy, money, knowledge, skills⌠itâs a long list. Which raises the question:
How do we play the infinite game with finite resources?

I havenât read Simonâs book yet, so maybe he will address this in a different way, but hereâs what I think. First, we better be applying our finite resources to the most important of our infinite questions. We better not be squandering our limited time and energy chasing after finite wins.
Secondly, when weâre playing an infinite game, we better have a few infinite game pieces on our side of the board.
Iâd like to propose â you guessed it â Godâs infinite love and Godâs infinite word. And hereâs one more: Godâs infinite capacity for prayer.
2025 has been a rough start for many people. This includes people that I know and people that they know. By the time I sat in prayer this week, I felt like I was handing God a web of requests that was starting to resemble a knotted mass of spiky Christmas lights all blinking an angry red. Sometimes the best I could do is say: All of it. God. Just⌠all of it.
And He said: ok.
Because no matter how long and messy our prayer chain gets, God has an infinite capacity to address each one. In the midst of the messiest situations, sometimes the best we can do is say: Here, God. All of it. Just, all of it. And we rely on His infinite love and His infinite word to untangle our requests with His infinite capacity for prayer.
Get Started
So let me challenge all of us at the start of this new year. Whatever goals, whatever challenges, whatever resolutions â donât play the finite games. Play the infinite ones. And place on the game board the most powerful pieces you have:
Infinite Love.
Infinite Word.
Infinite Prayer.
You can do beautiful, challenging, and infinite things this year. Letâs get started.
-âââ-

Janet Beagle, Ph.D. serves as director of graduate programs for Purdue Universityâs College of Engineering and is a writer, a Bible study teacher, and a student of Godâs Word. In her spare time, she likes to eat other peopleâs cooking and hike with her two- and four-footed friends. Read more of Janetâs Christian reflections at www.mustardpatch.org
“Here, God. All of it. ” Yes!
I had never heard “love multiplies as it is divided”, although it is so obvious and true.
Thank you, Janet.
such comfort in an infinite God!