Sir Isaac Newton had a friend who, like himself, was a scientist. Newton was a Christian and loved the Lord Jesus Christ. However, his friend was not a Christian. He didn’t even believe that there was a God! Newton had spoken to his friend many times about how God had created a wonderful universe. Each time, though, his friend would shake his head saying, “No,” and reply that the universe “just happened.”
Newton had finished the design of a scale model of our solar system. A very skilled craftsman then built it from Newton’s plans. In the center was a large ball made of brass which represented the sun. Revolving around this sun were smaller balls attached to spokes of different lengths. These balls represented the planets, and the spokes placed them at the proper distances from the sun. All of these balls, representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, were in their proper order. (Today we know that the planet Pluto is also in our solar system, but Newton did not know this.) These balls were all geared together so that when a crank on the front was turned, they all moved in their orbits around the sun.
One day Newton was in his study reading when his friend came to visit him. His friend saw the model and instantly recognized what it was. As he slowly cranked the model he studied it closely. He said to Newton, “This is tremendous! Who made it?”
“Nobody,” Newton answered without looking up from his book.
His friend turned to him with a confused look and said, “You must not have heard me. I asked, ‘ Who made this wonderful model?’ ”
Looking up, Newton said with a perfectly straight face, “Nobody made it. Those balls and gears just appeared and put themselves together!”
His friend, now quite upset, said, “You must think I’m a fool! Of course somebody made this! He’s a genius, and I’d like to meet him!”
Newton set his book aside and slowly walked across the room to his friend. As they stood in front of the model, Newton explained to his friend, “This model is just a poor imitation of our wonderful universe. You know the laws and the precise order which govern our universe. I can’t seem to convince you that this model, this toy, does not have a designer or a maker. However, you have said many times that the solar system, which this model represents, ‘just happened.’ Now tell me, is that the logical conclusion of a scientist?”
Newton’s friend quickly understood how foolish he had been. He realized that there had to be a Master Designer and Creator for everything! It wasn’t long after accepting the thought that God was the Creator that he also accepted His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as his Saviour.
Have you accepted Him as your Saviour?
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “All things were made by Him” (John 1:3). “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
ML-03/16/1997