Love, The Law, The Energy
Random? Chaotic?
How does random work? Random is defined as “made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision.”
Therefore, if we want to make something random, no methods or any other conscious mechanism be involved.
Have you ever tried to play music on your phones or other electronic devices? If you are a person like me, I like to have a play set up as “random” so that I can hear something unpredictable. Last year, I had to come up with songs in a playlist and had to listen to those songs over and over to be prepared for a concert. If you listen to same sets of songs over and over, it can make you board. One day I thought of playing music randomly so that I could not predict what the next song would be. It was fun for a while, but few days after, I was able to predict what song will come next.
Was it really random? It seems like random must be created as well with some methods or some kind of conscious mechanism. We are surrounded by the world that is totally under certain laws, thus we have to come up with mechanism in order to create random or chaos. Normally, we hear that organic materials will be eventually disposed. It is described as from order to disorder. Some use the term “Chaos” which is defined as “complete disorder and confusion.” But why? From order to disorder? Why highly concentrated energy must be dispersed to less concentrated energy? Why random or chaos happen under certain law when random or chaos imply disorder?
Interesting thing is that humans cannot make things totally random or chaos.
Think about making things chaotic. Just to be exact, even thinking about a plan to make chaos is not very chaotic. One of the examples is the experiment of hot water and ice. If you put hot water and ice in a small space, what is going to happen? Ice will be melt, and hot water will be cooler. The temperature in that space won’t be hot or won’t be cold anymore. It will be somewhere between room temperatures. It can be explained by the Second Law of thermodynamics, that if any organism and material on Earth is exposed to the atmosphere, highly concentrated energy will be dispersed. People use the term “Entropy.” Entropy is defined as “a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system’s thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system”
Based on the description of the Second Law of Thermodynamic, entropy can be explained as disperse of energy. As the energy is dispersed, the order becomes disorder. Some sees dispersing energy as spreading energy. One thing we know for sure, it is the law. It is just a way it is and nobody can escape it and nobody can create it. The Second law of thermodynamic is just as it is no matter what.
Primordial Soup?
In 1953, Mr. Stanley Miller and Harold Urey conducted experiment at University of Chicago, still called Miller-Urey experiment, later this experiment was published by the University of San Diego. The hypothesis was if there was water and atmosphere, lightening in the beginning, it may have created biological molecule or the called it life. We call this “Primordial Soup” theory. They tried to create atmosphere like it could have been in the time of beginning, and they used constant electric shock in the experiment. They claimed that they have created amino acid from the experiment. Unfortunately, there were too many assumptions such as creating atmosphere at the time of beginning, frequency of lightening and chemical composition of water. Therefore it is not easy to prove the actual beginning of life.
Instead of going through all the scientific details of this experiment, which later challenged by many people, one important underlying assumption for entire hypothesis or experiment which is the assumption that laws of thermodynamic were there at the beginning. The important question is, whether that soup created amino acid or not, they did not explain the origin of thermodynamic laws.
Spread of Energy
From laws of dispersing of energy to discovering the expansion of the universe, all this observation are based on the second law of thermodynamics, or entropy. While people tried to explain the beginning of the universe or life with an assumption that the current setting of thermodynamics were there, the important question of the beginning of the laws of thermodynamics does not get much attention. We talked about uniformitarianism last week, the current is the key of the past. Maybe this geological assumption is used widely.
However, I would like to present biblical perspective on dispersing energy. There is no objection on calling light as energy. The bible tells us the beginning of the light.
Genesis 1:2-4 indicate interesting perspective.
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
To me, these verses indicate that who created the thermodynamics. Light is an energy, and God created the light, so it shines into the darkness. From Genesis chapter one creation story, we can discover that creating the light has significant implication to life of living beings. The purpose is clear from this act of creation because God described His feeling by indicating it was good. Truly goodness of God is indicated during the creation, and evil was clearly not a part of creation.
On the other side, in evolutionary theories explain that life begins accidentally. It eliminates any possibility of any purpose. Some people may argue that why having purpose is important? What’s the significance of having a purpose of life? The evolutionary perspective may present that survival is the purpose and genetically advanced beings will survive, and maintain the better life. Let’s take a look at survival. Even the desire of survival itself is interesting aspect of evolutionary perspective. Why survival is important? Why a being or beings want to survive? Isn’t it a just instinct? But why that instinct? Why survival valued? Why peoples want to live longer not wanting to die as soon as possible? Who gave that notion? Can Solomon’s notion be an explanation? Ecclesiastes 3:11, Solomon said,
He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He (God) has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God Eos from the beginning to end.
Energy Dispersion To The Dry Bones
Ezekiel 37:1-10
The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” ¶ So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Full disclosure, this illustration is symbolic. However, it gives insights. Here is the understanding from the Scripture about life. Beginning of life is not simply because there were organic materials randomly came together with lightening incident. Dry bones are organic materials but putting all the chemical ingredients together doesn’t mean that it will automatically form a life. The bible says “the breath of God” must be there to form a living being, not just organic materials.
Genesis 2:7
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living being.”
When God breathed the life, the organic materials were formed and worked according to its function. The energy of life was dispersed to us from God, the entropy, spreading of Devine energy into humans, the order of God was given to Human with intentions, design and purpose with the risk of disorder, freedom and liberty. As it was described, it needs to have rules and laws to create disorder, God puts the laws of thermodynamics, indicates that there is unchanging law we may observe.
Spreading and dispersing energy described many different forms in the Scripture.
“The light shines into the darkness” as John described about coming of Jesus. Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out” the Lazarus received the life once again. When Jesus comes, the trumpet will be sounding and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Breathing the breath of life into Adam’s nostril depicts certain pictures of God’s characteristic. Personable, approachable, loving, kind, sweet and intimate nature of God. The Creator God, who is willing to create and show infinite love towards beings with knowing that He will be betrayed and killed by His own creation.
That’s the power of Love from God towards all of us. That’s the unchanging law.
The Power Of Love
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
By the power of love, we are compelled to be new creation. By the spreading power of God, we are compelled to join the process of another layer of dispersing God’s love to the people around us. As God compels us with His love towards us, we are called to compel others to experience the love of Jesus. Eventually, we are all called to be God’s ambassadors to pass on, to share the love to one another.
You are called! You are an ambassador for Christ
As we celebrate this Zone Sabbath at Southview, we are practicing the ministry of ambassadors to our brothers and sisters in our church. We want to bring peace, faith, love, fellowship and reconciliation among us. Also, we want to learn and grow more in Christ. Can you imagine an ambassador who is not really passionate about his/her country he/she represents? That’s not a good ambassador of that nation.
I believe that we all need to be excited about the love of God. I hope you will be excited about Southview. I pray that you will be excited of the good news that Jesus came and conquered the evil. You must be excited about the second coming of Jesus Christ. As we are in Christ, we are new creation. It doesn’t need any complicated experiment. It doesn’t require a scientific theory. We all need the breath of life from God.
That’s what is needed at the Pentecost, disciples prayed to God, and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, disciples experienced amazing things. Do you want to experience amazing things? Why don’t we come together, create a strong community, praying together for the Holy Spirit?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation!!
