Einstein spent the latter part of his career trying to determine what holds the universe together. Despite his previous achievements with regard to his theory of relativity, the speed of light, and a brilliant mind, he was not successful in explaining why everything is not constantly drifting further apart. On the theoretical level the problem remains unsolved.[i]
But could it be the case that the One who created the universe is sustaining the universe? Colossians 1:20 explains the pre-eminence of the Messiah in that He created everything, and that everything that was made, was made by Him and for Him. Colossians 1:17 nails it: “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Ultimately the God of the Bible is outside of time and space, so is it any wonder that the most exceptional thinkers are like children in a kindergarten trying to comprehend how the Author of Life upholds the universe?
Sadly, Einstein’s understanding of God was akin to that of a Deist. In other words, God’s existence is evident by the order and design of the universe, but He has folded His arms, taken a step back and is distant. The Deist notion of God allows the creation to get on with it and takes little concern regarding human events. It is reflected in his famous quote, “I believe in Spinoza’s god, who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a god who concerns himself with the fate and doings of mankind.”
In Psalm 8, David praised the majesty of the Lord and considered His work displayed in astronomy and wondered that the Creator was mindful of man, though looked to the Son of Man (Psalm 8:4-6; c.f. Hebrews 2:6-7) in whom all things consist.
How do we make sense of God entering our world which He made, yet the fulness of God dwells in Him bodily (Colossians 1:19)? The hymn writer Charles Wesley attempted to describe the indescribable. “Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made Man.”
Einstein is also remembered for measuring the constancy of the speed of light, but there is One greater than Einstein who is the light of the world. Two millennia ago at the Feast of Tabernacles when giant menorah some 50ft high, impressively lit the temple courts and Jerusalem, Jesus the Messiah made an emphatic claim concerning His heavenly identity.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12).”
Jon Taylor 5th July 2021
[i] Please note an Elder from our congregation preached from Colossians about ‘One Greater than Einstein’ so I do not pretend to claim an original thought here. This has also inspired me to write further articles about other great thinkers and to evaluate their contribution in the light of the greatest Teacher.
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