“As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5)
“Wow, it’s beautiful out here. Just great!” These words of astronaut Ronald Evans echo the inexpressible feelings of those spacewalkers who have viewed God’s creation from that clear point floating far above its surface. That perspective is where you can take it all in at once. Any honest examination of the handiwork of God leaves an individual in total awe.
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (1902-1984) was an English theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a member of the Center for Theoretical Studies, University of Miami, and spent the last decade of his life at Florida State University.
Among other discoveries, he formulated the Dirac equation, which described the behavior of fermions and predicted the existence of antimatter. Dirac shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1933 with Erwin Schrödinger “for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory.” He also did work that forms the basis of modern attempts to reconcile general relativity with quantum mechanics.
He was regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. When reflecting on the mathematical perfection of the Universe, he remarked, “A theory with mathematical beauty is more likely to be correct than an ugly one that fits some experimental data. God is a mathematician of a very high order, and He used very advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.” Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac and many great scientific minds such as him credit an eternal divine mind for the formation of the Universe and all which it contains. For they know that only such an advanced mind could have designed what we can hardly comprehend.
The precision of the universe is totally stunning and nearly unfathomable. The intricate design that is found even in things as seemingly simple as a snowflake is amazing. The exquisite design of the human body is an astonishing and complex marvel to behold. Not only do we “not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb,” …we do not even fully comprehend how all those parts are formed in the womb. But Jeremiah knew for the Lord said to him, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…” (Jeremiah 1:5a).
The body that God so beautifully engineered is governed by numerous interdependent control systems. The brain has approximately ten billion nerve cells to record what is seen and heard. The skin has around 3,000 tiny sweat glands per square inch as part of an elaborate system to keep the body regulated at an even temperature. The heart forces our blood to travel close to 168 million miles per day, which is the equivalent of making 6,720 trips around the Earth. Our stomach lining has some 35 million glands secreting juices to aid in the process of digestion. And these are but a minute fraction of all the numerous processes which operate tirelessly to sustain our lives.
Examine a chart showing the organs, nerves, arteries, glands, and every other system of the human body. It is a collection of interwoven systems that is more complex than any machine mankind has ever invented or conceived of. And consider that even the simplest inventions of mankind require periods of trial and error to work out all the bugs. What God created is far more complex, and the first time He put it together, it worked flawlessly!
God, who fashioned the entire Universe, made us. That is truly amazing. God made each of us where we have the freedom to accept or reject Him. That is even more astonishing. Most people choose to reject Him. That is the most unfathomable thing of all.
(Carl Hartman is the Minister at Main Street Church of Christ in Lockney)
