This article is part of the series Scientific Virtues and the Fruit of the Spirit. Find other articles in the series here.
For those reading this who are weeks deep into a research project, or tirelessly working in the labs or field studies, for those who are staring down the barrel of a dissertation gun, and for those who have been working in science for several years, joy is not the word you may most readily associate with science.*
You may find joy in the ideas of science, or the outcome of your research, but joy in the midst of the monotony, failed conclusions, and tiresome research can be something that feels further and further from your grasp.
Firstly, I want to reassure you that your feelings of struggle with the science that you love is valid. We live in a perfectly created world that has been corrupted by the fall, and included in the fall was the very ground beneath Adam and Eve (Gen 3:17). It is through toil and labour that we work the ground, and that includes our scientific endeavours.
However, I want to encourage us that joy throughout our journey in science is possible – even during the moments when it seems anything but.
Consider with me the words of Psalm 8:
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honour.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Joy in searching
With David, there is no hesitation in immediately praising God’s name in His creation and giving Him the glory for the natural order of the universe.
David looks even beyond our world and calls attention to the moon and the stars set in place. When he looks up and sees this, he is astounded that God even gives man any notice. David’s mindset is totally shifted, and he sees his value in God in a new way.
This is our first (of many) source of joy in science – we find joy being searchers in God’s world.
Each time we learn something about the universe, we are joining Kepler in thinking God’s thoughts after Him.
Johannes Kepler’s famous quote “I was merely thinking God’s thoughts after him” is a perfect example of this. We believe in a created, ordered, immaculately designed and thought-out world with a creator God behind it.
We, therefore, being made in the image of God and given cognitive ability, are able to decipher and learn about this creation that we are placed in. Each time we learn something about the universe, we are joining Kepler in thinking God’s thoughts after Him.
We should join David and Kepler in searching our universe for ways and reasons to give God credit and glory for the works of His fingers. During the regular day-to-day workings of your time in science, strive to remember that the system you are interacting with isn’t just clever, it isn’t just balanced, it doesn’t just work because it does, but instead is the result of an all-powerful, universe creating God. We find joy when we fully grasp that it is God’s creation we are interacting with.
Joy in stewardship
A second source of joy in our science comes from the stewardship we’ve been given over the created world.
David confirms our Genesis 1-2 calling to care for, manage, and protect our world. This isn’t just over the animals listed by David (although numerous), but over the entirety of creation - it is our role to understand and nurture our nature.
All efforts in science can and should be seen as stewardship over God’s creation.
Our science may feel separated from this calling if we do not seem to be directly acting towards it. However, all efforts in science can and should be seen as stewardship over God’s creation. This is true from ecology to estronomy, covering the multitude of science disciplines.
I believe there are three primary outcomes in all science: first knowledge, second action, and third repetition.
We begin our stewardship over creation by further understanding how to best care for it. We continue with action, considerately ensuring that it will protect and care for creation. We finish by repeating the necessary studies and actions to learn from one another and apply these techniques in other fields and locations.
Our joy can stem from the knowledge that we are fulfilling a calling from God, doing as He intended, and in the knowledge that He is pleased with our endeavours.
In work, as you contribute to a project, analysis, or assessment, you are fulfilling your calling to steward over creation. In study, as you learn about the mechanisms of the natural world, you are fulfilling your calling to steward over creation. In research as you endeavour to conclude a theory, you are fulfilling your calling to steward over creation.
Our joy can stem from the knowledge that we are fulfilling a calling from God, doing as He intended, and in the knowledge that He is pleased with our endeavours. In the most frustrating or monotonous moments of our science, let being content in our calling give us joy.
Joy in service
The final joy I will cover in this article is joy in service.
Our science has the power to do immense good in this world. A motivating factor and source of joy is that we can better lives through our knowledge and subsequent application of our understanding of the world.
Our primary service goes to God, and He is the one we should strive to serve when we undertake any science. Our secondary service is to each other, pushing to give glory to God in all our efforts.
One notable example in recent history is the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. The director, Francis Collins, is a devout Christian and ardent believer in this principle of serving God and serving others through our science.
As we further understand and apply joy in searching and joy in stewardship, then our joy in serving will increase. This helps us to also put an emphasis on our ethics in science. Science is not successful when any means are used - terrible things have been done in the name of science. To safeguard us from straying away from the God-given ethical calling in science, we need to grasp this joy in serving God and others through our science.
As I finish, I want to note that this is not an automatic process but rather a process that requires intention.
David intentionally looks and considers it God’s creation, we must also intentionally look and consider it God’s creation when we interact with it. David intentionally thinks of our role as carers for the planet, we must also intentionally think of our calling to care for creation when we do our science. Finally, David knows his joy comes from praising God in His creation.
In all of our science, let us give God full glory and praise, pursuing to do the best, knowing that it is God almighty who has given us this cause. Find joy in your science - to His praise and glory forever.
*I’d like to preface this short article by raising the point that the following will only truly resonate for those who know Christ and His saving work for us. We all participate in science, some more regularly and knowingly than others, but not everyone will interact with the natural world whilst recognising a creator God. Knowing that a living, active, creative, and designing God can be behind all that we see and do in science unlocks a fresh joy in us.
Moreover, knowing that He created it for our enjoyment and to point us to glorify Him furthers this joy. I would strongly encourage that if you are reading this and don’t yet know Jesus, that you should first take up the opportunity to read one of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) to see what Jesus has done for you and to unlock your potential to see the entire universe in a completely changed way.
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