The God Particle

What is the fundamental element of existence? How was the universe created? These are the ultimate questions for scientists to uncover. Centuries of study and billions of dollars have been spent in attempts to understand these basic, yet complex, questions of life. Many theories have been presented, including one in the 1960s by physicist Peter Higgs and a team of scientists. In their search to understand how particles get their mass, they developed a theory that the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that no one has ever even seen, is the key to understanding how the universe works.

Large Hadron Collider (IStockPhoto)

Since that time, scientists have worked to prove the theory, and as a recent article on CNN.com reports (What is the Higgs boson and why is it important? ), they have now found an indication that the Higgs boson particle actually exists. Because this particle is believed to exist everywhere, yet it has never been seen, it eventually got the nickname of the “God particle”.

Their research is being conducted by smashing protons against one another in the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider (see photo) in Switzerland. Interestingly, as exciting as it may be to finally uncover the Higgs boson, if they don’t see it, this contradicts decades old approaches to understanding the universe, and our existence may be even more complex than originally thought.

The Basis of Creation

Now admittedly, my knowledge of science is very limited, since I’ve forgotten most of what I learned in high school physics and chemistry. But the desire to understand the basis of all creation, the critical element by which all things were made, is fascinating.

This quest to understand the fundamental building block of the universe parallels man’s search to understand how life begins in the womb of a woman; discovering the meaning of life and our existence; or the pursuit of lasting peace, success, or purpose. It confounds and perplexes man, yet compels him to follow it. It’s an almost intangible search that man engages in. The result, if there is one, is not visible to the naked eye; cannot be touched or felt; yet it still exists just as surely as you and I exist.

We’ll spend tremendous amounts of money, expend enormous amounts of energy, and propose complex theories to explain it. All this in the hope that once we answer this fundamental question, we will not only understand how it works, but we’ll find a way to control it, and apply that knowledge to leverage change. Unlocking the secrets of our existence opens the door for experimentation and manipulation of such information in an effort to manage our destiny. In the same way, scientists try to understand the beginning of life, with the ultimate goal of being able to recreate and reengineer it.

God The Creator

But to me the more important question as we search to understand creation, as we try to discover the beginning and the source of everything is…should we stop to consider the Creator? As we seek the critical and foundational element of the universe, to determine what everything depends on for its existence, from what everything is formed, do we consider the God who made all of it?

Man attempts to understand how God works, His motives, plans and purposes. But we can never get ahead of God, we can never anticipate Him. We can never predict specifically where He’s leading us and how He’s going to move in our lives. We can only trust in Him, only believe, really believe that He loves us and that His plan for our lives is more grand than we can imagine.

Thus my fundamental question is to understand why He cares about His creation so much. Why does He love us when we can be so unlovely and unloving at times? Why does He patiently teach us the same lesson over and over again until we finally get it? Why does He want to bless us so much? Why does He protect and heal us? Simply because He loves us. Nothing hard or complex about that. Just love. So the “God particle” of my existence is Love, the love of God. I can’t see or touch it, but I know that it exists because it is manifest in my life.

Copyright 2012 Priscilla Archangel