Atomic Wisdom

All matter, including the human body, is made up of atoms. One of the implications of being made up of atoms is that, as physicist Alan Lightman notes, “…99.9999999999999 percent of the volume of an atom is empty space, except for the haze of nearly weightless electrons. Since we and everything else are made of atoms, we are mostly empty space.” The atom—that which makes us up—is, as Maria Popova observes, “not a unit of stuff, but a tiny center of matter swarmed by nearly weightless electrons orbiting at a great distance and a great speed. We are mostly restlessness and empty space.”

We can think of the tiny center of matter that exists in each of our atoms as God who dwells in us, because “It is in God that we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Although St. Augustine knew nothing about atoms and electrons, he intuited our restlessness and emptiness and the core of God that makes up our very being when he said, “…our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

With so much empty space available inside the atoms that make us up, why does God choose to dwell in such a small part of those atoms? Perhaps we would be overwhelmed by God’s glory if God were more than an infinitesimal part of us. Perhaps God knows that humans need a quest for that which is hidden to focus our attention. Perhaps Jesus’ observation that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed is truer than we realized. We may not understand why, but God is clearly an advocate of smallness, of humility: “Take the lower place.” “Let the little children come to me.” “Those who are last shall be first.” “You must serve one another.” This approach is modeled in Jesus and in the very way God exists within us. It is when we embrace being small, being humble, that we will find God within the restlessness and empty space within us.