In the beginning when God created the heavens and earth… (Genesis 1:1)

              Albert Einstein once said, “When I judge a theory, I ask myself whether, if I were God, I would have arranged the world in such a way.”

              Einstein was known for his faith, though he did come to embrace his Jewish identity over time. However, his search for order in the universe, for a “grand, unified theory,” reflected his belief in some higher power, or God. As he also said on many occasions, “God doesn’t play dice with the universe.”

              What a great question to ask ourselves. We cannot, of course, know the mind of God, but we have some sense of the nature of God, incomplete though it may be. We have some idea of God’s intention for creation, especially as revealed through Jesus and the gospels. Maybe I cannot ask the question with the same confidence as Einstein, but I can still ponder the implications.

              If I were God, would I have arranged the world in such a way? And if not, what can I do to rearrange the way things are?

              Would God have arranged the world to be at constant war?

              Would God have arranged the world so that some would have mind-boggling excess while others lived on the very margins of subsistence?

              Would God have arranged the world to be filled with hate and greed that pits groups of people against one another?

              Einstein sought after a universe that made sense, both mathematically and according to the laws of physics. He experienced the chaos and disorder of post WWI Europe and thought we could do better. The fact that he never achieved his goal of a unified theory shows us just how far removed we are from the ‘mind’ of God. If Einstein couldn’t figure it out, who can?

              Yet, like Einstein, should we not at least try? Shouldn’t we keep striving and working to discover what God intended in that beautiful moment “in the beginning”? Just as Einstein sought a better theory, we also must seek a better world for all.