As the human race continues to progress and advance in technology, the potential for growth and development becomes increasingly vast. Imagining the power of a being like God, who has existed for eons, becomes a daunting task.
To illustrate the concept of exponential growth, consider the following story:
In ancient India, there was a chess-loving king who often challenged his visitors to a game. One day, a wise man accepted the king’s challenge and asked for a reward in the form of rice grains. He requested just a few grains to be placed on each square of the chessboard, starting with 1 grain on the first square, doubling the amount on each subsequent square.
The king, having lost the game, agreed to the wise man’s request and began placing the rice grains accordingly. However, as the squares progressed, the number of grains grew exponentially. By the twentieth square, the king would have to place 1 million grains, and by the fortieth square, it would be 1 billion grains. Ultimately, on the last square, the king would have to place an astounding amount of rice—over 18 quintillion grains, enough to cover the entirety of India with a one-metre-thick layer of rice.
The wise man, realizing the enormity of the debt, allowed the king to pay it over time. Thus, the wise man left as a very wealthy individual.
Another example to demonstrate exponential growth is in measuring time. One million seconds is equivalent to approximately 11 days, while a billion seconds amounts to roughly 31 years.
These examples serve to illustrate our inability to fathom exponential growth, and our tendency to underestimate large numbers. If we consider that God has existed for billions of years, it suggests a power and magnitude that surpasses our comprehension.
Therefore, it is reasonable to imagine that if God has lived for such an extensive period, the level of power and capability would be far greater than what we can fathom.