The Physics of Collision.

When Fragility Meets Immovable Holiness

Human attempts to deal with lawlessness usually rely on higher levels of restrictive order, control, and systemic violence. We try to counter force with force. In our physical and emotional realities, our response to brokenness resembles Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. To stop an object along a specific trajectory, we exert an opposing force.

But there is a catch: God’s goal is not simply to suppress the trajectory of brokenness by crushing it; He also wants to prevent us from being destroyed, lost, or shattered in the process.

Imagine a cosmic collision course of terrifying proportions. On one side, we have Planet A—humanity, a fragile, fractured sphere spun of glass and ash, carrying the crushing, accelerating kinetic momentum of billions of souls bound in sin, hurtling down a dark gravity well of ruin. On the other side stands Star B—the blazing, uncreated, infinitely dense Sun of absolute holiness, divine justice, and the unyielding moral framework of the cosmos.

Because of Planet A’s profound fragility, a direct impact with the infinite weight and blinding heat of Star B will instantly vaporize it into nothingness. Not a single speck of ash would mar the surface of Star B; the uncreated Star of holiness would remain entirely unaffected, unmarred, and undisturbed by the collision. Yet, God’s justice cannot simply be turned aside, dimmed, or bypassed, because His holiness must remain absolute and true—and His heart still desperately yearns to walk in close, intimate fellowship with the very souls racing toward obliteration.

How do you resolve this impending catastrophe? How do you prevent the utter annihilation of Planet A when the immovable reality of Star B demands its destruction, yet the heart of the Creator desires to save it?

The only solution is to place something directly in the middle.

To prevent Planet A from vaporizing against the immovable surface of Star B, a third element must step into the exact point of impact to provide inelastic absorption. This mediator must stand directly in front of the unyielding Star to shield the falling planet, absorbing the entire catastrophic momentum of the collision within itself.

To do this, the absorbing material must experience permanent deformation. The sheer, crushing energy of the impact is consumed internally to break chemical, physical, and molecular bonds—shattering, crushing, bending, and tearing the mediator so that Planet A can be brought to a safe, life-giving halt while the absolute integrity of Star B remains completely unviolated.

Reflections

• If God simply met our sin with an “equal and opposite reaction” of judgment, we would be obliterated. How does understanding the need for “something in the middle” change your perspective of what happened on the cross?