God of Creation

So my co-worker found a recent fascination with black holes. I've been watching some videos of Stephen Hawking so I can hold my own in the discussions. It's fascinating to hear what's out there in our universe. And being me, my brain is busy reconciling these things with what little I know about God.

Did the universe pop into existence billions of years ago when a black hole exploded? Who cares? Whatever mechanism God used doesn't really change the facts that the universe exists, it's big, and we live in it. So let's have some fun talking about the amazing ways that it works. And see where we might go instead of where we've been.

What are black holes? Hawking describes them as, well, holes. There's no bottom. And they seem to draw everything inside. If we accept that matter/energy is neither created nor destroyed, then what goes in must still exist. Is it trapped in the black hole or expelled somewhere else?

What would be the purpose of expelling it? Motion might be one - like a jet engine. The black holes propel the universe. Transfer is another idea. Sending used up energy to another place to start growing new galaxies, stars, and planets. This raised the question - are new planets forming?

I have to admit, I grew up in very strict fundamentalist circles. In recent years, God has really opened my eyes about how much I limit Him with my rules. So think about it this way, are the trees you see today the same ones that were here when He created the Earth? Of course not. He created trees that seeded and grew new ones. Why wouldn't He seed new galaxies?

Science fiction is fascinated with the idea of faster than light travel. We can't get to another star without it. Or at least, not very many. Our life spans are just too short. But what if we lived forever? Imagine a billion years from now, would you care about having spent 100,000 years on a space ship? Forever means no end. In a finite universe of limited size, you would, eventually, see everything and go everywhere. Is that really the limit of God's reach?

I stated earlier that energy is neither created nor destroyed - the first law of thermodynamics. I take issue with it. Well, just the first half - energy is not created. The first law assumes that the universe is a closed system. I believe that it's not. I believe that God is still pouring Himself into it.

God did not create the universe, set it in motion, and step away. He has always been intimately involved with it. He hasn't changed. He found pleasure in creation, and still does. He didn't paint a picture just to hang it on the wall. He's still painting it!

If God always intended us to live forever. And if He's bigger than our imaginations can fathom. Doesn't it stand to reason that He would expand the universe to reflect His size, not ours? By the time we explore everywhere, He will have somewhere new for us to go. Isn't that amazing?! We will never run out of new places to see, new things to learn. At every turn, He expands our knowledge just a little bit more. Refines what we thought we knew in ways we can't see yet. Over, and over, and over.

Do black holes feed into that? I have no idea. But won't it be fun to find out? To travel to one and figure out a way to measure, see, learn what happens. God didn't create a universe that puts things out of our reach. He created it to reveal His majesty and splendor. Then populated it with us to appreciate them. We can't appreciate what we don't know. It would be self-defeating to put things out of reach. They may be hard. It may take a very long time. The journey is half the fun.

And don't worry about learning all there is. He's way too big for that. There will always be a new mystery. Some twist or turn that we didn't expect. Now that's exciting!