Physics and Families (Issue 5-2010)

Pastor Joel’s 10 year series is forcing us to think about the statement in the Lord’s prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is In heaven”.  This series has honed in on one way we can go about doing exactly that.  In Eph 3:15 Paul states that ‘every family in heaven and on earth derive their name from the Father’, so how do we go about becoming heavenly families, ushering in His will, here on earth as it is in heaven?   The structure of family, which is defined at least biologically, but can also be seen socially, geographically, professionally, and spiritually is the place we must look to begin to respond to this call, because if it is not happening there, it is doubtful we will be effectively doing His will anywhere else.  But families are not always easy places to be like Christ…why?  Friction!

Families are not the easiest place to be like Christ, Why?  Friction!  Newton’s First Law of Friction states that the frictional force of two dry surfaces that come into contact with each other is proportional to their normal reaction, or the force that holds them together, and is dependant on the nature of the surfaces themselves.  Ok, let me try to say that another way, the frictional force between two objects is directly related to what is holding them together and their very nature.  Hmmmm…I think I see something in physics that might help us answer that question better,  and as is almost always the case with God, it is quite a paradox.

The first piece that contributes to the ‘frictional force’ is their normal reaction or the force that holds the two objects together.  For example, Velcro has a strong normal reaction, the force holding it together is great.  With people, the force holding them together can be great or little: a parent-child or biological tie, a wedding ring or sibling relationship; a shared cubical, fence in the yard, or favorite coffee shop.  But because of the second piece, their very nature as sinful creatures in a sinful fallen world, this gets all out of whack and high friction can be the result in each and every setting, regardless of the bond.  Their connection to each other is distorted in its potential because of their very nature.

But what if their very nature has been drastically changed?  Romans 7 and Ephesians 2 talks deeply about this being the case for the family of God, that our old nature has been replaced by Christ himself, through His blood “that He might make one new man, establishing peace” (2:15 NASB).  So now the nature of the individuals is radically different, it is Christ himself, and works against this natural tendency, our flesh, to create friction.

What about the force holding them together?  The natural bonds we listed above that make families are replaced by a new bond that has been made in Christ and fundamentally changes everything.  The force that binds them together is now Christ himself.  In John 17 Christ says we are united in Him, and He is love, so we are to be united in Him in love for one reason, so that the world will know He was sent.   John 13:35 says, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Psalm 133 and Eph 4 describe the importance of our unity in love.  Colossians 3:14 says it this way, “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”  The perfect bond of unity is love, and our very nature has been changed so now the laws of friction in the natural world are upside down, the change to our bond and our nature make us more compatible and less frictional.  But we are still here and in the flesh so this is not automatic.  The physics of this formula are very simple: the greater the distance between any family member and Christ, the greater the potential for friction, the closer we get to Him, the less friction there will be.  Don’t focus on not making friction, focus on Christ, and there will be less friction because our nature and our bond are different.