Christ & Newton’s 1st Law
I’ll be the first to admit that science, especially physics, was never my strong suit so shout out to John, my lab partner, for carrying my dead weight all through senior year of high school physics.
However, I do now enjoy drawing parallels between spirituality and scientific principles. And lately, I’ve been meditating a lot on Newton’s 1st Law - otherwise known as the Law of Inertia - and how it connects to spiritual awakening.
Here’s what Newton’s 1st Law States:
"An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving at a constant velocity in a straight line, unless acted upon by an external force."
Or, to put it more simply:
“An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue in motion unless acted upon by an external force.”
So this is a principle at work in the domain of physics and kinetics, but this Law also beautifully summarizes the nature of spiritual growth and awakening.
Generally speaking, humans in general are highly resistant to spiritual change. In other words, they have a high amount of spiritual inertia - which is the property of an object that resists any change in motion. This is because spiritual growth requires effort and we are easily bound by carnal illusions.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:20 that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power. Power is the ability to change, to do, to create forward motion and momentum.
I’ll state a hard truth: most people are not moving spiritually at all, even in Christianity. One of the main reasons for this is that we think learning information about God or the Bible is spiritual growth. This isn’t spiritual growth - it’s just intellectual knowledge.
Knowledge can be a helpful tool in our spiritual awakening journey, but it’s not growth in and of itself. This is a huge error of the modern Church. We go to Church and learn about the Bible and think we’ll become more Christ-like.
True spiritual awakening and growth is the death of the ego so that the radiant life of Christ, already placed in the center of man as the divine image, can grow, expand, and push beyond its current boundaries. This is the true kingdom of God, which is an experience of the life of Christ in mind, body and spirit.
As I teach extensively, true awakening is a complete overhaul of our human reality so that we can inherit the fullness of God’s reality. This is about the evolution of the human heart and mind so that we can join Christ in the power of His resurrection in mind, body and spirit.
So, returning to Newton’s 1st Law from a spiritual angle - a soul at rest will remain at rest, and a soul in motion will remain in motion, unless acted upon by the Holy Spirit.
Once we begin to taste and see the reality of God’s kingdom- it’s very hard to stop again because we realize that there is this fountain of eternal life that is highly pleasing to drink from. We remain in motion, even with the enemy’s attempt to derail us. This is the beauty of spiritual momentum and motion. This is the reality of grace.
What is tremendously more difficult is getting our soul to start moving. So many of us are asleep to spiritual reality - even most Christians. This is because we are rarely taught the true nature of Christian spirituality and what has become available through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, as I stated earlier, we are extremely resistant to spiritual change because it costs us something - the laying down of our lives to be filled with the life and power of Christ.
Spiritual stand-still is spiritual death. Obviously, this doesn’t really work for God - who desires us to grow and evolve into the fullness of the divine image, Jesus Christ.
When we’ve been spiritually stagnant for too long, God will oftentimes allow dramatic shifts in our outward circumstances to get us moving again. This can sometimes look like something adverse on the outside - sickness, a loss, or any type of emotional crisis. Remember what Paul says - we know in all things that God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Nothing provokes us into spiritual motion and growth more than crisis or spiritual battle. This is just a fact. Suffering sometimes is the only thing that can re-open our senses to spiritual reality. Look at what Pauls says:
“Let us glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.” 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 (NIV)
In other words, suffering and hardships, no matter how big or small they may be, re-awaken us to pursue the manifestation of God’s kingdom in, through, and around us.
You may be someone watching or reading and you’re thinking, “I don’t want to go through suffering, I’m doing what I can to pursue God.” That’s great - it sounds like you’re already in motion, so stay in motion. Enjoy that forward momentum with the Holy Spirit.
From heaven’s perspective, it isn’t acceptable to be at a stand still in regards to the growth of the soul. So if you do feel like you’re at a stand still, but you’re having trouble feeling like you aren’t sure how to get moving, the best thing you can do is to identify someone who is moving forward and have that person pray an impartation prayer over you. This is a beautiful way to awaken the soul and get it moving on its journey into God.
Otherwise, leverage the hardship or suffering you are currently going through and use it as an opportunity to re-connect and re-awaken with the love of God. Once you find that momentum of growth, it will be hard to stop you.
