Push…Pull

Mathematical subjects that include names like Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, among others, I find them to be mysteries and not very applicable to my life.

I am willing to let them be the expertise of someone else…

Science, though interesting, requires me to remember too many foreign sounding words, and now that I’m approaching my retiring years I find I’m less than interested in speaking Latin just to describe the natural world around me, or to have the same foundation as, say, a scientist!

Yet, any of these subjects can be grasped when you apply them to everyday subjects, and referenced by everyday language. Sort of like applying the information to practical applications that any modern person can understand… Well… Maybe!

Consider Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (E=MC²). Though you may know the words behind the equation, you probably cannot use it in any daily conversation and it applies.

“E = mc², is the equation in German-born physicist Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity that expresses the fact that mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into each other. In the equation, the increased relativistic mass (m) of a body times the speed of light squared (c²) is equal to the kinetic energy (E) of that body. “

https://www.britannica.com/science/E-mc2-equation

See! Apply that to your morning coffee routine!

How about Isaac Newton Three Laws of Motion? Newton’s laws describe the relationship between the forces acting on a body and its motion in direct relationship to those forces.

1. First Law: Every body remains in a state of rest or uniform motion unless it is acted upon by an external unbalanced force.  This means that a body either remains at rest or moves at a constant speed in a straight line until something forces it to do something else.
2. Second Law: A body of mass subjected to a force undergoes an acceleration that has the same direction as the force and a magnitude that is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass. (That sounds easy!)
3. Third Law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. This means that whenever the first body exerts a force on a second body, the second body exerts a force on the first body. These forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. This law is sometimes referred to as the action-reaction law.

Let me ask you a question.

• Question: How long did it take these men in study and experimentation to come up with these formulas and statements?
• Answer: A lifetime of deep thought, analysis, experimentation, and finally a declaration!
• Yet they are summarized all over the place for us to understand in somewhat simple English.

Newton’s laws of motion were first compiled by Sir Isaac Newton in his work Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published on July 5, 1687! Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems.

We still reference his work today, and it allows us to comprehend the world around us better.

So. If these equations, laws, formulas and scientific understanding that have been discovered and documented by mankind are true, then they come from an ordered universe and are applicable everywhere. Here, and in the far off gulf of the unknown.

Here’s my thought today. Can I apply Newton’s laws to my life today?

We struggle with momentum. Getting started, or stopped. We often need something to instigate motion in any direction or to bring us to a stop.

Within in God’s realm, I have scriptures that give me a foundation to understand how these Laws of Motion apply, long before Newton “discovered them”.

Let’s see if they apply even today!

Here’s one of great importance.

Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
(James 4:7 NKJV)

Let’s break this down into smaller components and discover if Newton’s Laws can apply in a Spiritual Sense.

1. Submitting to God is essentially submits your will to His.
2. Your movements in life are subjected to His Will. Although you are created with the ability to enjoy free choice in your decisions, and so when you submit, I propose, you are working in His Will within your realm. That’s a powerful force on your side of the equation!
3. When you “resist” or push away the Devil, there is an opposite and equal reaction to force applied. Resist him slightly and he will only slightly be moved. Resist him greatly and he moves away greatly and his resistance to your force is futile.

Remember the scripture: “Greater is He that is in You, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) You have a strength on your side that helps you to resist even more greatly. That strength is greater than the force that can be applied against you! If great force is applied, then a great response can be given!

You’ve seen those desktop items where steel ball bearings are strung from a frame, and if you pull one back and let loose, the ball bearing on the other side will move in direct proportion to the force you exert. Now. The connection forces that ballbearing to come back and hit with a similar force and it pushes the first one away.

But imagine if that ball bearing wasn’t attached…
it would be moving far from its location!

So. What about this “opposite” reaction that occurs when you resist? When you “push” there is an equal and opposite reaction to your force that moves you in the opposite direction. If the Devil is fleeing from you, and if you are moving in that opposite direction, then where are you going? Perhaps it’s answered in the next verse of James.

Draw near to God and
He will draw near to you…
(James 4:8 NKJV)

Two thoughts.

1. My action of drawing to God causes him to draw to me. I’m not sure I can explain this in light of Newton, but we’ve often heard, “If I take one step, He’ll take two…” It’s a greater movement on his part that is not proportional to my action. You’ve seen that bumper sticker: (HE>I) His steps are greater than our steps!
2. If my resistance to the Devil causes me to move in the opposite reaction of the push, the opposite of Evil is Good, the opposite of the Devil is God. 
3. (Notice that from Evil we add a letter and get Devil…and from Good we subtract a letter and get God!)
4. When I push against the Devil, my opposite momentum has me moving into the direction of God. Turn your attention to God and begin to “draw” Him into your life and the reaction of your “draw” is that He will “draw” (or be drawn) to you…

Each Resistant Act in our life propels us into another direction. So, if you Resist God, there’s really only one way you can go!

Look at the life of Jonah to see this in operation. He resisted the plan of God, ran as far away as he could, and ended up in a situation that he would not be able to get out of on his own. He then turned (began to draw) to God, and God was drawn to Him – with the only solution that would work!

Let me give you some scriptures from Jesus and see if you can apply some of the same logic from above and determine if they are applicable to your life.

• Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
• Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.
• Luke 6:41-42 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.
• Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Compare who we are today to the Apostles of old … Could we not live like them and let that Spirit within us work to produce results that are immeasurable?

• Jesus strides into life and commands:  “Follow me!”  You may be a tax collector.  You may be a fisherman.  It matters not –  what happens? You become fishers of Men! You will is submitted to him and you become what he makes of you in your life before all others.
• His is a trumpet call, a battle cry.  “If any man comes after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew_16:24).
• So much are you like him and submitted to him that when your faith responds to the Gospel, you can be like the disciples and turn the world upside down with your zeal. (Acts_17:6-8)

This is no rocking chair religion, no come-in-and-take-it-easy religion.  This is not an escape from daily life hoping for that great experience elsewhere! No! This is right here! Right now!

More revolutionary than what Newton or Einstein considered in their day. This Spiritual walk with God is full of Power! Now. Live like it!