The How and Why of Life
by Glen on 2002-09-22 00:21:31
Have you ever wondered how you came to be you and why you exist?
As a human being, you’re made up of one trillion cells.
How much is one trillion? To hold one trillion oranges, you’d need a box
that’s 250 miles long, 250 miles wide, and 250 miles high!
Even more amazingly, all these cells work together. Some cells grow hair;
some grow teeth. Some cells don’t begin to work until you become a teenager.
Other cells wait until you’re middle-aged. You have blood cells, heart muscle
cells, liver cells, eye cells, brain neuron cells, and more.
Most amazing, all one trillion cells are the result of the one cell created
when you were conceived. As Tyce’s mom explained to him, the DNA in this
first cell contains every bit of information needed for your body to grow.
What exactly is DNA? Deoxyribonucleic acid. It’s life’s building block.
DNA is shaped like a spiral staircase. In a human, the DNA ladder in one cell
contains three billion “rungs.” (if DNA was the size of a real ladder, those
three billion rungs would circle the entire Earth-twice. Wow. Think about
that!)
Because of its shape, DNA is able to replicate itself perfectly. When a cell
needs to make a copy of itself, the DNA “ladder” unzips down the middle to
form two halves. The result is two exact copies of the original. That’s how
one cell at conception can pass on the exact copy of its DNA to all trillion
cells of a human.
Each different cell is able to specialize because it activates a different
section of the DNA “ladder.” These sections are called genes. Some genes
trigger a cell to become hair cells. Other genes trigger a cell to become
blood cells. And so on.
In one way, this method is extremely simple. After scientists discovered the
“double helix” shape of DNA and everything else about it, they were able to
run many experiments, including the ones mentioned by Tyce’s mother.
In another way, however, DNA is overwhelmingly incredible. The information
stored in the DNA of just one cell would fill the hard drives of a million
personal computers. The microscopic chemical reactions resulting from the DNA
coding happen millions of times a day in your body.
DNA is so incredible that many scientists find it very difficult to believe
that life was the result of accidental evolution. These scientists cannot
help but look to God as our Creator.
After all, life itself is a humbling mystery.
Think of it this way. We survive because of sunlight and water and dirt. Our
bodies are nourished by carbohydrates from bread, which comes from wheat,
which draws from moisture and sunlight and soil. Our bodies are strengthened
by protein from the meat of animals, which feed upon plants. All of this is
made possible by the water that falls from the skies and collects in rivers
and lakes.
Sunlight, water, and dirt.
We forget how incredible it is because we see it and live it every day and
give it little thought. We plunk down a few dollars for our hamburgers at a
drive-through; we pick up milk from the grocery store; the sun throws off
heat from 93 million miles away; the Each remains in its fixed distance from
the sun-not too close, not too far, held by gravity that we can predict but
not explain.
If you think of life this way, it’s not hard to believe that such a world
with such mystery exists because of the unseen hand of a Creator.
All of this leads to a much bigger question. Why?
Although learning “how” we’re on this each is fascinating, learning “why”
we’re really here is the most wonderful purpose given to us as humans. That
journey involves a search through faith – and learning what it means to be in
a world created by a powerful yet personal God who loves you more than life
itself.
– adapted from a short article by Sigmund Brouwer