"What Is Life?"
King Arthur, the legendary English king, attempted to establish righteousness during a time when the strong enforced their selfish version of right. Unfortunately, his efforts ended tragically with rebellion and loss. In his retelling, T. H. White described the thoughts of the weary king the night before the final battle in which he died. Arthur considered his successes and failures, but now his hope was dying, flickering like a candle in the wind. Could a kingdom be built on right, or was life merely a treadmill for people to follow the iron carrot of love, like a donkey treading the corn?
In 1946, Erwin Schrödinger, the father of quantum wave mechanics, published the remarkable book “What is Life?” He delved into the sustenance of life, showing that nature organizes itself by drawing order from the environment. For instance, plants harness sunlight, converting photons into energy to grow and sustain themselves. Animals then consume these plants, acquiring the energy and nutrients they need. Even in death, the plants enrich the soil, perpetuating the cycle of life. He concluded that the substance in our food that sustains life is order, meaning the power to organize chemicals into needed molecules.
Sun produces light by changing its hydrogen into helium, but in doing so, it is losing mass. It is depleting its hydrogen. When it runs out of hydrogen, it will die in a cosmic explosion. The sun is dying to give its order for plants to live. Plants die to provide its order for plants, animals, even tiny lifeforms, to live.
Where did the order come from to make our sun and produce our universe? Most cosmologists assert that the universe began with a big bang in which a small speck, first called a cosmic egg and now a singularity, burst in a rapid expansion of intense light and order. Scientists do not know where either came from.
The Bible starts with the profound statement, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen 1:1). It testifies that God is the Creator of everything, from the sun and stars to the universe itself. God's creation was not a mere accident but a purposeful act, accomplished by His spoken word. The Bible adds, “And the earth was without form, and void . . . And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen 1:1-3). As God spoke, order and light burst into the darkness, creating stars, galaxies, planets, and ultimately, life on Earth.
The Gospel of John provides deeper theological insight when it refers to the words that God spoke as the "Logos." The Greeks coined this word to indicate the guiding mechanism of nature and used it to describe the declared reason for a person’s actions, including his words and his sayings. John eloquently described the Logos: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). John emphasizes that the Word is not just from God but is God Himself. The Logos holds the power of creation and life. John added, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness” (John 1:4-5). The Word brought order, light, and life into existence, and it is the same life that animates every person. Hillsong incapsulated this insight when it sang, “God of creation, there at the start, before the beginning of time, with no point of reference You spoke to the dark and fleshed out the wonder of light. And as You speak a hundred billion galaxies are born. In the vapor of Your breath the planets form.”
The Logos, present from the beginning, took human form in the person of Jesus Christ. John testified "The Word was made flesh" (John 1:14). Jesus' purpose was to bring light. Light always overcomes darkness. He began by creating all things: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3), but in time, He entered into human life. Paul explained, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same” (Heb 2:14). Jesus did not enter this life as a god or a king, but as a sacrificial lamb. John described Him as “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). We read of the sacrifice that Jesus made on Calvary, but what was the sacrifice that He made at creation?
God exists beyond the limitations of three dimensions, time, and space. He is limitless and eternal, unlike us, who are confined to our physical existence. To create the world and everything in it, the Word, which is God, had to enter our three-dimensional reality. The Word left the limitless and timeless realm and entered the chaos and darkness to create our world. This self-sacrifice is a mystery beyond our comprehension, yet it highlights the divine nature of God.
Jesus completed the sacrifice that He initiated in the beginning when He entered the void from which creation erupted. Sin corrupted that creation and filled this life with pain and sorrows, difficulties that everyone experiences. Jesus endured them, too. Isaiah testified, “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Is 53:4). Alma echoed, “He will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Alma 5:21). Isaiah added, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities . . . and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:4-6). Jesus took our punishment upon Himself and, through His death, conquered death, offering redemption for all.
When Jesus died for our sins, He experienced complete separation from His Father. In that moment, He cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). This sacrifice was first offered in the beginning where it created the space and time necessary for each person to prepare to meet God, but it was perfected on the cross. His infinite atonement can cleanse every person from sin and raise them from a chaotic life to a restored and reconciled life. Paul concluded, “He must often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb 9:26). Hillsong also poetically expressed this sublime insight: “God of salvation, You chased down my heart through all of my failure and pride. On a hill You created, the light of the world abandoned in darkness to die. And as You speak a hundred billion failures disappear. Where You lost Your life so I could find it here.”
Who can comprehend the love of God who uttered the Word? Who can comprehend the submission of the Son who sacrificed Himself from the beginning? Life is not some meaningless treadmill between birth and death, but a gift forged by the love of God and expressed through the self-sacrifice of His Son. When we accept this love, a love that rescues us from darkness and chaos, we can sing with the heavenly hosts, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, honour, and glory, and blessing . . . Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Rev 5:12-13).