Wednesday 29 July 2015

Spiritual Science

"He upholds the universe by the word of his power" Hebrews 1.3

Right up until the last minute I was all set for a path of science. It was only at the eleventh hour that I chose to do History at 6th Form rather than Physics to go along with my Maths and Chemistry. The rest was history. I have always had a fascination with both science and history. History because, as the saying goes, it is His Story. I love the fact that I can use my historical education to look at the events of Jesus life and in particular the resurrection - it is also why I loved Chris Sinkinson's talk at our church in April.

I love science for its wonderful logic, its striking patterns, its ability to predict, but most of all because as I read about it I am hearing something of the voice of Jesus. Psalm 19 speaks of this, before going on to rejoice in God's written word. Hebrews 1.3 though says it in a still more remarkable way. 

There is a false view of God sometimes called Deism. It says that when God created the universe it was like a massive clockwork device, with each part obeying certain unchangeable laws. He then stood back and let it run. This is a view of the universe that makes miracles very hard to accept. It also leaves the universe as cold and unyielding. 

More significantly, it runs counter to God's witness to himself in the Bible and especially in Hebrews 1.3 (also Colossians 1.17). Here we have the Lord Jesus intimately involved in every part of his creation. It carries on, because he commands it to - every second, every nanosecond of every day and night. We can talk of laws, governing how the atoms of my body behave, because every day he commands them to keep on obeying his word. The reason my atoms keep on making the bonds necessary for the complex molecules that make up my physical body, rather than atomising - or doing wildly unexpected things - is because the Son of God goes to the trouble of telling them to do so - that is truly miraculous.

Does this blow your mind? How great God must be to sustain everything, every moment of the day. Suddenly the universe is not merely fascinating, but alive with God's word. Science, is not just rewarding and a means to an end, it is part of the deepest relationship we could ever have.

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