The Value of Life

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  - Psalm 139:13-14

I'm typing this on a 2020 MacBook Pro.  There were over 15 million made that year.  Mine was made just like everyone else's (for the most part, some have Intel, some have Apple M1 CPU) but the data and the use of my MacBook is unique to me.  There is not one other 2020 MacBook Pro in the world that is exact to mine.  But, they all operate the same way.  Data comes in through the keyboard, mouse, wi-fi router, internet, or USB device and goes out to the display, printer, wi-fi router, internet, or even television.  There is input and output.  The CPU does the calculating, the SDD stores the data, the RAM is for temporary memory storage,  and the rest is the electronics to make it all work.  If we can comprehend the uniqueness of our own personal computer, phone, or tablet, then it is no different when it comes to the human being.

We are all made up of atoms, molecules, cells, and DNA.  The uniqueness in every person is encoded within this DNA from the very start, the very point of conception.  We are a uniquely created identity with flaws, shortcomings, aptitude, possibilities, and longing for discovery.  So, what separates you from another sitting in the chair next to you or across the restaurant?  Your life experiences have brought you to this point, and theirs have brought them to their point.  You may have been raised together, but your experiences are different.  You may have been raised in different cities, states, countries, and cultures, to which you would have a very different life experience.  The internal workings though are exactly the same.  You have a unique DNA, a code that defines you.  It is the design criteria for everything about you.

We know that the brain is made up of cells, and neural pathways (called synapses).  It is in constant active state, even when your sleeping.  As long as blood is flowing to the brain, it is moving data around.  In today's world it is like the "cloud".  It stores data, it computes, it provides answers, it holds onto the entirety of your memories, it is the instructor for your bodily functions - breathing, blinking, feeling, heart beating, digesting, excreting, walking, talking, hearing, seeing, and so on and so on.  It is the mastermind behind how it all works.  But, is your brain different than the person across the room from you?  It functions in many of the same ways as it needs to operate the complexities of the physical body, but the thoughts, the memories, the emotions, the experiences that are stored in your brain are 100% unique to you only.

So, why would Richard Dawkins then compare the human fetus to nothing greater than a pig?  His quote in 2013, "With respect to those meanings of "human" that are relevant to the morality of abortion, any fetus is less human than an adult pig." There is the atheistic view of the wonder of humanity. In the eyes of evolutionary atheists, we are all nothing more than evolved cells over billions of years and that the human evolved into a more intelligent being than other animals. The standard belief on value of life comes only from the subjective goodness that one can contribute to the greater good, not from the moral fiber which makes you - you.

From a religious perspective, we believe that God created mankind. We believe that God is in the creation of every new zygote at the point of conception, as stated in the scriptures - Psalm 139, "I formed you in your mother's womb." God created Adam, and God created Eve, to rule over the other creations in Genesis 1:26. You are a uniquely created being by the Creator of the universe. You have over 30 Trillion cells at any one time in the makeup of your body. Each of these cells serves a purpose, not randomly, not because of evolution, not because of coincidence, but because of your DNA and the unique purpose the Creator gave them. You have value because you were created for a purpose. Your value is not determined by your financial statement, your success at work, your parenting skills, the grades on your test, the results of that last project, or whether other people love you. Your value is determined by God alone, and because He is your creator, His love for you is eternal. You are here for a purpose to impact those around you for the kingdom. This life is just an infinitesimally small drop of water in the huge ocean of eternity. Lift your head up and realize that you are on track to meeting Jesus face to face one day and hear those words, "Well done."

Don’t Forget to Live (pt 4 of 7)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13-14

My thoughts:
Over the last week or so I’ve been trying to help you understand that we don’t have to argue with Atheists when confronted, but rather simply ask questions that allow them to see things from a different light.  This brings to the forefront how science and God are not at odds with each other, but perfectly in line, when honest and openly thought through.

Take a moment and do this simple trick for me as you read this. 
Stop breathing….stop…hold on…keep holding your breath…watch the seconds tick by.   How long could you hold your breath, before your brain forced you to inhale again?  Why?  Where did that instruction come from?  Did you have to think about breathing or did your body just force you to do it?
You see, we must breath in order to survive.  The cells of our body require Oxygen, and when it is absent negative consequences begin destroying cells in brain, which can then lead to stroke or an aneurism.  The red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, which result in healthy organs, circulation, muscle motion and cell regeneration.   So, if it is completely through evolution that this all became real, where did the original design and purpose come from?  How frequently do you tell yourself to breath?  If you are like 99.9% of the world’s population, it is never.

Now, intentionally focus on how many times you blink while you read the rest of this blog.  Your nervous system is telling your eyelids to close over your eyeball for multiple reasons.  Most of us are correct to think it is to help hydrate our eyes, but it’s so much more than just that.  We do need moisture in our eye sockets for your eyeball to move up/down and side to side.  The blinking of eyes will help distribute that liquid evenly over the surface and protect the eye from dust, debris and irritation.  But, did you realize it is also a way for your brain to regain focus, to stimulate an internal timer, to capture and relay a snapshot of a given moment, to calm one’s emotions or to simply allow one’s brain to rest for a 100 milliseconds or so?  Every time you blink, all of these things take place.  Yet, I’ll bet you never once in your entire life told yourself to blink.  Even on those really windy days, where dust is flying; you instinctively squint your eyes, and even close them for a longer period of time than a normal blink.  You didn’t have to think about doing it, it just happens. 

“Tell your heart to beat again.” was the line from a song a few years back from Christian artist and American Idol winner, Danny Gokey (written by Bernie Herms, Randy Phillips and Matthew West).  It tells the story that when we are heartbroken, we sometimes have to remind our heart to beat again and that it will be okay.  It helps us focus on the fact that God has carried us through troubles in our life and will continue to carry forward in our life.  It also reminds me that my heart gives me life.  It is the engine, the driver of function for the rest of my body.  Blood flows through my body, because my heart beats 72 times a minute (or so).  It increases the blood flow automatically when I am stressed or working out, and slows it down when I’m sleeping.  I’m not ever telling it to pump blood, it just does it.  There is no life unless blood is pumping through the brain, the cells, the nervous system, the lymph nodes, the organs, etc. etc.   You can be brain dead and still be alive, but when the heart stops, everything else stops with it.

This simple test was to help you realize, that you are not in control of your own bodily functions; and it’s not through a random formation of cells and molecules that these three simple functions came into fruition.  They were designed to work perfectly for a given purpose – to sustain life.  You are an amazingly complex creation that required an intelligent design, not an act of random, happenchance circumstance.  If indeed, the Atheist continues to believe that all of this evolved randomly over time to become this perfect, intricate design; we need simply ask them how did our predecessors survive during this evolutionary process?  How did the blood flow through their bodies before the heart existed?  How did the lungs draw in the exact amount of oxygen for sustainable life and exhale out the exact amount of carbon dioxide without the brain instinctively giving the instructions?  How did our earliest evolutionary ancestors see and keep their eyes from drying in socket?

We were created by an intelligent, purposeful maker, known to most as God, the Father.  If someone wants to say there is no proof of that, ask them, where is the proof of life sustainability before the heart, brain, lungs and eyes evolved.  There is none.  Every animal has some form of these organs which help sustain their life.  At some point they were created.  For even if they evolved; and hypothetically we evolved from them; the same problem existed.  Even the earliest evolved form of life had to survive before it could evolve.  Help them understand how little proof there is for any of their hypothesis on the evolution of life.

Be Blessed,

Rich

 

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Finding Me - Day 14

September 25, 2014

What makes the mind see things that have yet to happen?  Where does the imagery come from, the colors, the details, the words and actions are so vivid that it as if it is a re-run of the event.  You’ve all been there.  Some call it Deja-vu, others call it a premonition; either way it is beyond the explanation of the ordinary thought process.  I’ve been told that it is nothing more than your mind being slightly behind your ability to process the visible and audible signals that enter into your everyday experience.  It’s like your eyes see something, process it but the recognition is lagging by microseconds, thereby making it appear as if you are seeing it a second time.  However logical one tries to make it, it is nothing short of a representation of how unbelievably complex the human brain is.

There are millions and millions of nerve endings in the human body, some even say billions.  There are upwards of 75 organs in the human body that all interact with each other to provide healthy living.  Arteries and veins carry blood throughout your entire body without an instruction manual, without you giving any direction or thought.  As my fingers move over this keyboard and press down upon the keys, I am not consciously telling my right index finger to press down on the ‘n’ key, it just happens in milliseconds.  The human body is amazing and incredibly complex, which makes me ask the question: “How can anyone believe that it simply evolved from a muddy slime, from a simple bolt of lightning?”   Seriously, is it not so far from ones imagination to even try to comprehend the complexity and miraculous formation of this body, flesh, muscles and bones, to realize that it must have been created uniquely and divinely?

Day 14: Miraculously Made
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” – Psalm 139:13-14

God is the Creator of heaven and earth and all things present there in.  in the depth of your mother’s womb, He alone formed you through the replication of cells and the development of your arterial system, pulmonary system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, reproductive system, nervous system, muscular and skeletal structure and so much more.  You are a work of art created by a Master who knows you intimately from the day of your conception.  There is nothing He doesn’t know about you, and nothing you can do that He is not aware of.  Accept that you are miracle from God Almighty and then choose to live with the confidence instilled by His finger on your life.

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