Recently, a special family reunion occurred through social media. A woman has now connected with over forty of her siblings. How was this possible? She was the product of in-vitro fertilization. A male donor’s sperm was used in dozens of successful pregnancies. Although she never knew the identity of her biological father, years after the procedure, she discovered a way to potentially connect with her other half-siblings.
She sent a sample of her saliva to a company that is able to sequence her DNA from the sample. After her DNA was sequenced, a database compared her genome with thousands of others who had also submitted their DNA samples and she soon received a list of people who were her likely siblings based upon similarities of their DNA sequences. After contacting them and vetting their stories, it was confirmed that all were half-siblings. The social media site continues to grow as more half-siblings are added to the DNA database.
This woman was fortunate to connect with her half-siblings and the discovery process does not have to stop there. If she desired, she could continue her outreach and potentially connect with cousins and even more distant relatives. In fact, with time, I would not be surprised if she found herself related to a community that may rival the population of a small country, and perhaps the entire world?
The complete mapping of the human genome is an amazing technological achievement. In addition to allowing one to locate siblings and family members, it has enabled scientists to discover the genetic basis for many diseases, opening the door to potential treatments. While one may marvel at the ingenuity of mankind to decipher the genetic code, a more profound question remains. How did DNA become ordered to encode for every biological process in all living organisms? In English, we use the twenty-six letters of the alphabet to create words and sentences to communicate ideas. If we randomly threw thousands or millions of these letters into the air and allowed them to naturally fall, what is the likelihood that meaningful words would result? Perhaps a few recognizable words would emerge but entire sentences? What about a paragraph or an entire book? The odds are astronomically high and for all practical purposes, unlikely. Now, take the four base pairs that comprise DNA and conduct a similar experiment. A random scatter may result in a few sequences that encode for amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins. But how can these proteins then assemble to form enzymes, cells, organs, and complex animals? Yes, we know the genetic code but do we know how it was created? Of all the possible explanations, chance and random events are untenable.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:24-25 (ESV)
As mankind continues to gain new information from the complete sequencing of the human genome, it should point us to reunite with the Creator of this amazingly complex code. Something cannot simply arise out of nothing. The Creation always points to the Creator. God created all life. It was not a random process of chance mutations and DNA sequences coming together to form life. The complexity of life is proof that God has embedded His presence and intelligence in His entire Creation.
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 