Come with me now as we take a delightful journey into the exciting and provocative world of “you!” Interwoven throughout this little vignette is the awesome story of just what a magnificent masterpiece God made when he created you. We will conclude this two part devotion with the simple but still beautiful and timeless Gospel story and its incredibly scintillating ending; or should I say beginning.
Our world today is full of a host of mysteries ranging from how does electricity work to just how old our planet is. No matter which mystery we choose to explore, the thing that seems most amazing is that we all exist in a mysterious universe that is constantly yielding new discoveries. In our wondrous universe matter and energy co-exist on a grid of time and space, and yet somehow all the pieces seem to fit together and make sense.
In our universe there exists only two constants. The first constant is change. Our world always appears to be in a perpetual state of change. Take for example the human mind. Our minds are stored in an amazing organ called the brain. The brain in most humans can weigh up to three or four pounds. It consists of billions and billions of cells that somehow manage to hold together and work in constant unison. Each brain cell can be likened onto an entire city, with hundreds of different structures, all performing very specific functions 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But we have only begun to scratch the surface of this most unique structure – the human brain and its mind. Within each human brain is a myriad of connections that link each cell to its neighbor cells. Pulsating within this condensed cluster of billions of cells is a massive network of “neurons” that somehow transmit a combination of chemicals and electrical impulses throughout our entire system of brain cells by means of tiny connection points called “synapses.” These synapses number in the hundreds of billions.
In a very mysterious way a highly complex exchange of matter and energy is taking place in mere micro-seconds throughout this entire super-structure, which in turn is both conducting and guiding the trillions of other cells in our bodies as they perform their own unique functions. Matter and energy are all being transformed continuously under the skillful guidance of a group of chemicals, electrical impulses, and other still unknown processes organized by the human brain.
The journey, however, is now just beginning. Just how do our brains and mind transform this immense matter and energy at their disposal into human thoughts, emotions, and the host of other things that make us who we are?
But as amazing as all of this is, just consider how “you” came into existence. You stand today 30 trillion cells tall. But, at your very beginning, you were only one single cell. At conception sperm and egg cell came together and “you” began. You weren’t much to look at then, but just wait. In just nine short months that one single cell called “you” will multiply into a vast network of trillions of cells. Each cell is unique, and yet independent and all 30 trillion of them live together in harmony.
That original cell, must have been one pretty smart customer. For not only did it produce trillions of other cells but it knew when to allow a bone, liver, brain, blood, nerve, and a host of other different types of cells to come into being. It also knew when to let hands, feet, toes, eyes, ears, and many other wonderful members of the human body to also take form. That original cell knew how to do things that no scientist has ever come close to replicating. Not bad for one little cell! But there is still much more to explore. Tomorrow we will see even more amazing things – stay tuned.