Something to chew on…
We have all heard of Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2. But have you ever stopped to think of its implications?
What Einstein discovered is that energy can be turned into mass and, conversely, mass into energy. And that the amount of energy within a certain amount of mass can be determined by multiplying its weight by the constant in the universe (the speed of light) squared.
The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second (that’s much faster than your Ford Mustang by the way). If you multiply 186,282 x 186,282 you end up with a number of roughly 9 million billion…or 9 with 16 zeroes after it. It is a number that we can barely wrap our minds around.
So now take the mass of a simple paper clip…about 1 gram or .002 pounds…and multiply it by 9 million billion (the speed of light squared) and that is the amount of energy contained within it.
What happens when that energy is released?
Well, 0.7 grams of matter (less than a paper clip) converted into energy releases the amount of power that was in the atomic bomb that dropped on Hiroshima. That’s enough energy to power a typical American home for over 1000 years.
If that’s how much energy is contained in a simple paper clip, imagine how much energy is contained within the mass of a bowling ball…or your own human body…or the tree outside in your yard…or the earth itself.
Now take all the mass of the universe multiply it by the speed of light squared and just pause for a moment to consider the amount of energy inherent in the world around you.
It is absolutely mind-boggling.
And what is really mind-boggling is that all this massive energy…expressed in pure light…is all perfectly contained. Controlled. Precise. Orderly. Beautiful.
So precise that you can set your clock on it.
So beautiful that you want to take pictures of its glory.
All the energy of the universe is designed, governed, and held in check by a Power greater than itself…a Power that is beyond it, above it, and yet within it…a Power that can express itself in precision, beauty, consciousness, and life.
Wow.
That kind of Omnipotence truly is incomprehensible. Mysterious and transcendent…yet at the same time personal and knowable.
To truly ponder this Omnipotent One compels you to fall to on your knees in humility and awe….and to sing…
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”