Christianity Today: The Incarnation Sheds Light on Astrophysics, by Deborah Haarsma (Ph.D. Astrophysics 1997, MIT; Chair & Professor, Physics & Astronomy, Calvin College (1999-2012); President, BioLogos (2013-2024); Executive Director, International Network for Christian Higher Education (2025-):

To reach people in today’s tech-dominated world, we must bring together the discoveries of modern science with the ancient truths of Christianity. The coming of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago gives powerful answers to today’s questions. If the heavens are unfathomable in their greatness, then this truth is even more stunning: The Creator of the cosmos chose to become incarnate here.

When God became man, he came to a planet that is but a pinprick in the emptiness of space. In our solar system, the Sun carries the Earth and other planets along as it orbits the Milky Way galaxy, sailing among a vast number of stars of which it is but one. …

The total number of galaxies in the universe is difficult to count, since many are too distant for us to detect. But researchers recently measured the collective faint light of the galaxies and estimated that the visible universe contains hundreds of billions of galaxies—each of which contains billions or trillions of stars. …

For all our advances in physics and chemistry, what we know can describe only 5 percent of the universe. … For the remaining 95 percent, we have no explanation.

Scripture doesn’t mention dark matter or galaxies. Yet the Bible speaks clearly of God’s cosmic scale. …

The Bible’s cosmic claims are timeless, yet they carry more heft when considered alongside the discoveries of modern science. The God who brings out the starry host one by one, calling each by name, can do this for billions upon trillions of stars, not just the few thousand we see at night (Isa. 40:26). The inconceivable vastness of the universe does not diminish God—it shows us more of his greatness.

The place of humans is certainly small; we find ourselves dwarfed by both the creation and the Creator. Yet there’s more to the story. Although he is Lord of the heavens, announcing his coming to earth with a starry sign to the Magi, God also set his heart on humankind. The Creator of the galaxies, eternal and unbegotten, emptied himself and was born as an infant. At the crossroads of time and space, he chose to become fully human, one of us.

That changes everything. …

When Jesus was conceived in Mary, he took on atoms from her—as we all do from our mothers—and those atoms had histories stretching far beyond our solar system. Those atoms assembled into genes to give shape to his bones and blood and into organic chemicals shared with all life on earth.

Each cell of Jesus’ body embodies his love for his creation—not only humans but also the animals, plants, mountains, and rivers often mentioned in Scripture. His very atoms once glowed in beautiful nebulae and powerful supernovae in the far reaches of space. Indeed, when God took on human form, he took on all of creation.

The Incarnation answers deep questions raised by modern astrophysics about our purpose and significance in the universe. …

 Many physicists have thus sensed the divine behind it. In 1948, Einstein himself told his friend William Hermanns, “I meet [God] every day in the harmonious laws which govern the universe. My religion is cosmic.”

Yet that very cosmic harmony can make God seem impersonal. Some years ago, I was out walking and thinking about physics when I suddenly felt overwhelmed by God’s intelligence. It seemed that this immense mind, governing space and time with such precision, couldn’t possibly care about individual people like me. I didn’t doubt God’s existence, but for a season I doubted his love. Einstein felt this too. He also told Hermanns, “My God is too universal to concern himself with the intentions of every human being.”

This is where science falls short. The natural world, though it reveals much of its Creator, cannot give us the full picture. In the Incarnation, we have God’s ultimate answer: Yes, God concerns himself with every human being. We know it because he came in person to dwell among us. The disciples saw him, touched him, knew his smile, and felt his love.

A few months after that walk, the Holy Spirit gradually moved in my heart. God’s love started to seem plausible to me again, but now on an entirely deeper level. I realized that the mind of God is superseded only by the heart of God.

Though the Scriptures don’t speak of galaxies, I found in the Bible a larger framework for understanding the cosmos and its loving Creator. The ancient Hebrew psalmist had little conception of the universe as we know it today. But when he penned Psalm 103, he was referring to the largest thing he could conceive:

He does not treat us
as our sins deserve
or repay us according
to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens
are above the earth,
so great is his love
for those who fear him;
as far as the east
is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (vv. 10–12)

When the psalmist wrote of the east and the west, the heavens and the earth, he was picturing the furthest extent in each direction. He was pointing to the unfathomable ends of the universe. But he wasn’t doing so to point to God’s intelligence. He was underscoring the profound height and depth of God’s love and forgiveness.

Knowing the expanses of the universe, as we do today, only gives his point greater gravity. Whatever else God is doing in the cosmos, we believe that he took up the atoms of the universe to become one of us. In coming to us as an approachable, helpless baby, God’s message is unmistakable: Do not be afraid. I made you with intention. You are loved.

The carpet of stars above declares the shining glory of God. Yet God revealed his deeper glory, and his very heart, when the Word became flesh—with its cosmic implications—and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Through faith, the astrophysical elements of the Incarnation proclaim the stunning depth of the love of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

The discoveries of science cannot diminish God, for he created it all. Each time we look up at the night sky and consider the stars, we can remember that God delights in reminding us of his love—a love that is wider than the universe.

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