The True Source of Life

Slawomir Gromadzki

Introduction

What is the source of life? What keeps us alive? We know that we need food, water, air and sunlight—but where does life itself come from, and what is the mysterious energy that sustains it?

A tiny seed can remain still and apparently lifeless, then suddenly begin to grow. Our bodies perform thousands of incredibly complex tasks every moment without us even thinking about them. Nature is filled with similar wonders that we often take for granted.

Are these things simply the result of blind natural processes, or do they point to a greater Source of life and intelligence?

This article explores several fascinating examples from the human body and the natural world that point to God as the true Source of life. But they also lead to a much more personal and important question: If God has the power to give and sustain physical life, can He also give us new spiritual life and transform us from within?

The answer may be far more important than we realise.

The Miracle of Antibodies

When a baby is born, on the first day after birth it produces too small an amount of antibodies A, as a result of which its defence system is, as it were, impaired and would not be able to properly protect the child’s body against the invasion of microorganisms. However, one day before the child is born, a miracle takes place in the mother’s body which scientists are unable to explain. It turns out that on the day before delivery, helper T lymphocytes in the mother’s body somehow become strangely activated, go to the B lymphocytes and, by sending lymphokines or cytokines toward them, instruct them to transform into plasma cells and begin producing a greater amount of antibodies A, so that the following day, when the child has already been born, these antibodies can be passed to it in the mother’s milk, because the infant itself does not begin producing the full amount of these antibodies until the seventh day after birth.

But let us consider an extremely important question: Is it the mother who knows this and, by the power of her will, commands the T lymphocytes to instruct the B lymphocytes to transform into plasma cells and begin producing a greater amount of antibodies A? Of course not! Most often, the mother does not know when the child will be born, and even if she knows the approximate due date, she has no idea that the child will be born with an insufficient amount of antibodies A.

Or perhaps the lymphocytes are so incredibly intelligent that they know when the birth will take place, and therefore exactly one day beforehand they instruct the B lymphocytes to begin producing antibodies?

No! Lymphocytes possess no knowledge or intelligence; they know nothing and have no idea what is happening to them. They only carry out someone’s commands. They behave as though they possessed knowledge and intelligence because they are controlled by Someone who possesses all of this.

Automatic Washing Machine

At home we have various appliances that we can programme so that they are able to perform certain tasks by themselves. For example, an automatic washing machine. However, someone who had no knowledge whatsoever of modern technology and saw a washing machine for the first time—how it starts by itself, takes in water, washes, drains the water and is able to switch itself off—might think: “What an intelligent appliance! It does all this all by itself!”

But is the washing machine itself intelligent? No! A human being possessing certain knowledge and intelligence created that washing machine, programmed it in such a way and supplied it with electrical energy. That is why it gives the impression of something capable of performing certain tasks by itself.

Lymphocytes and Intelligence

And it is exactly the same with lymphocytes. They themselves know nothing, so there must exist an Intelligent Being who created these lymphocytes, programmed them in this way and supplies them with His extraordinary life-giving energy.

Scientists today can see that extraordinary and inexplicable things happen in our bodies, but many of them somehow cannot accept the fact that some intelligent Being is responsible for this, so they say that nature does it. For example:

Quote from the book “Strengthening the Immune System,” p. 105: “To this day it remains an unsolved mystery of nature how it happens that an infant receives antibodies together with its mother’s milk. It is also not known why, in the infant’s stomach, these antibodies (protein molecules) are not digested by enzymes and hydrochloric acid?! (Here is their answer to this question): Nature prevents this in a way that remains unexplained to this day.”

Miracle of the Seed

There are people who believe that they do not have to thank anyone, for example, for the bread they eat, because they think that they themselves worked for that bread. But could they eat that bread if it were not for the miracle that takes place when a grain dies and germinates, awakened to life by some mysterious energy?

Why are scientists able to create an artificial seed which, in terms of its structure, chemical composition and appearance, does not differ from a natural one, yet despite this it will not germinate? It will die burried in the soil, but it will not come to life!

Is something missing from this artificial seed?

No, because this seed is an exact copy of the original seed.

What, then, is the reason why it is unable to germinate?

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” John 5:21

“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things…” 1 Timothy 6:13

Why can an artificial seed not germinate?

Because it is not “given life” by a certain life-giving energy which belongs exclusively to God.

In 1 Corinthians 15, apostle Paul adressing those who didn’t believe in resurrection, uses the germination of a seed as an illustration of the resurrection miracle:

“How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.” 1 Corinthians 15:36–38 (NIV)

Paul uses the germination of a seed as another miracle pointing to the resurrection. First, he states that when a seed is buried in the soil, it must die!

And likewise, we also must first accept our death in Christ to be able to resurrect!

So how does a dead seed become alive and germinate?

First of all, in order to germinate, the seed requires water from rain to hydrate the dry seed and activate enzymes, allowing metabolism to restart, and the sun must warm up the cold soil because the seed can germinate only within a certain temperature range.

Then, at the same time, electricity must appear in the seed and wake up the sleeping genes in the DNA of every cell of the seed. Then the genes for the root, flower, leaf, etc., wake up and the process of cell division starts.

The Life-Giving Energy in a Seed

In 1959, a scientist—Dr Burr of Yale University—discovered that electricity is present in a seed. At a certain scientific symposium he expressed it in the following words:

“The speed and vitality with which a plant will grow can be successfully predicted on the basis of how great a quantity of electricity is contained in the seed.”

That was in 1959, and now let us listen to what Ellen White wrote about this 60 years earlier, in 1898:

“God creates the electricity which gives life to the seed… Even if man exerts all his strength and abilities to their utmost limits, he is still dependent upon his Creator, who knows what is necessary for the harvest to come. All this depends upon His wonderful power, inaccessible to man. Without these invisible manifestations of His power, the seed has no value.” Ms 34, 1898; 3MR 322.1

And it is similar with us. We too would have no value; at most we would be dust, if it were not for this intelligent divine energy, this “electricity,” which causes our bodies to function. Like that dead seed in the soil, we also are spiritually dead and in darkness, deprived of the Holy Spirit and God’s agape love. But when we drink the water of life from Jesus and when we are warmed by the sun of Christ’s righteousness, accepted by faith, then the Holy Spirit starts dwelling in us with His electric current and power, making us spiritually alive and able to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Extraordinary Energy Within the Atom

Each of us, like everything else in the universe, is made up of atoms. Atoms, in turn, consist of an atomic nucleus containing positively charged protons and negatively charged neutrons. Electrons orbit around the atomic nucleus. Until relatively recently, we thought that atoms were the smallest elementary particles in the universe. Then it turned out that atoms consist of smaller components, namely protons, neutrons and electrons, and it seemed that this was the end of discoveries. But that is not the case, because today we know that there are even smaller components of the atom, which have been called quarks. The quarks themselves contain some extraordinary structures resembling strings. Quarks are components of protons and neutrons, which are located in the atomic nucleus. For the discovery of almost every element shown in this illustration, someone received a Nobel Prize.

What interests us most, however, are quarks. It turns out that the force binding three quarks together in a proton or neutron is a force, an energy, of almost unimaginable power. That is precisely why it is referred to as great nuclear energy. A nuclear explosion is nothing other than the release of this energy—that is, the breaking of this enormous force binding quarks within atoms.

So in reality, each of us is a potential walking nuclear weapon, an atomic bomb! And if, in the case of just one of us, God were to withdraw the gluon connecting the quarks, it would cause such an explosion that only dust would remain of our planet!

Are we dependent on God? Yes! It is only because of His extraordinary energy that everything which exists in the universe is able to exist!

Fireflies and the Source of Light

We have certainly heard or read about electrical sea creatures.

Many of us have probably seen fireflies, or glow-worms. Personally, I remember that while staying in the United States, near Andrews University (in the Chicago area), I saw fireflies much larger than ours. In summer there were so many of them and they shone so intensely that the sight was almost breathtaking. It looked like flakes of glowing snow falling and moving in different directions.

And in one book I even read that there are fireflies which shine with multicoloured light and are so large and produce so much light that some people place them in special containers and use them as lanterns.

Interestingly, scientists have called the glowing substance produced by fireflies “luciferin”! Why such a strange name? After all, this word makes us think of Lucifer, the originator of evil. What do fireflies have to do with Lucifer?

It will be easier for us to understand why this substance was given such a name when we realise that the name Lucifer literally means “light-bearer,” and this was the name borne by that great angel before he rebelled against the Creator, before he desired to carry his own light. Therefore, we may say that fireflies are bearers of light—not their own light, but God’s light.

Every source of light and everything that performs some kind of work must have some source of energy. It is the same with fireflies, which emit so-called cold light. This is because they are able to convert as much as 90% of their energy into light and only 10% into heat, whereas with a light bulb it is the other way around…

The Sunflower and Blue Light

A certain scientist studied the behaviour of sunflower blossoms because, as is well known, sunflower blossoms slowly turn during the day, following the sun. This scientist therefore wanted to discover the reason for this. Why do these flowers turn, and what are they actually following?

Because sunlight, like a rainbow, has seven different colours, this scientist decided systematically to remove individual colours in order to see how the sunflower would react.

When he removed yellow from among these seven colours, the sunflower continued to turn, following the sunlight. Then he removed red, but the sunflower continued to turn. And as he continued removing each of the individual colours one by one, there was no change, until finally, when he removed one of them, the sunflower stopped turning!

What colour do we think it was?

Blue!

Only when this one colour—blue—was missing from among the seven colours did the sunflower become completely motionless!!! It was the blue colour that the sunflower was following! Why?

Of these seven colours, blue has the shortest waves, is the most vital colour, the most biologically active, and possesses the greatest amount of energy.

But how does it happen that the sunflower knows where the blue light is and how to follow it? Does the sunflower possess knowledge about this? No. If it did, the sunflower would be wiser than the scientist who discovered it!

So how does it happen that this flower follows the blue colour which stimulates its growth?

There is only one explanation: either the Creator remotely controls the genes in the cells of the sunflower, or He programmed those genes beforehand, just as we programme, for example, a video recorder, washing machine or other appliance. The Creator programmed these genes so that the flower would respond to the blue colour and follow it.

What kind of light is used in a darkroom to develop film?

Red. Why?

Because red, in turn, has the longest waves, the least active ones, and therefore they are not even able to expose photographic film.

Why, then, did God arrange things so that blue is the most abundant colour in nature—the sky and bodies of water? It is because, through sunlight and the sky, God says to us: “Live! Be active! Rejoice!”

Therefore, when we look at a blue sky, especially on a clear day, we are more cheerful and have more energy.

In addition, when we look at the blue sky and the green of trees and grass, it invigorates us and at the same time puts us into a cheerful mood, because serotonin has such properties, and its level in our bodies increases under the influence of seeing these two colours!

And when the sun sets, what colour usually dominates?

Red! Why?

It is because red has the longest and least vital waves. By means of the beautiful red colour of the sunset, God says to us: “I think it is time to sleep and stop working.”

Miracle of the New Birth

The same God who created life also has the power to transform a sinful human heart. Through the Holy Spirit, a person can be born again and begin an entirely new life in Christ.

Jesus made it clear that the new birth is not merely desirable—it is essential:

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3, NIV

But how can this miracle take place in our lives? How can selfish, sinful human beings be changed into the likeness of Christ?

This transformation is not something we can accomplish through our own determination or effort. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. God invites us to recognise our need, surrender ourselves to Him and ask in faith for His transforming power. If the change does not come immediately, we should not become discouraged. We should continue asking, seeking and knocking, trusting that God desires to give us His Spirit even more than loving parents desire to give good things to their children.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you… How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9, 13, NIV

Ellen White expressed the same wonderful truth:

“Prayer is heaven’s ordained means of success in the conflict with sin and the development of Christian character.” Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 564

No one needs to remain a slave to inherited weaknesses, sinful habits or an unchristlike character. When we come to God sincerely, surrender our will to Him and continue asking in faith, the Holy Spirit begins His work within us. He changes our thoughts, desires, motives and character. The transformation may be gradual, but it is real, because the God who first gave us life also possesses unlimited power to make us new.

Robert Ingersoll and the Power of the Bible

God desires to give us this extraordinary, life-giving energy of His through His Word.

I once heard about a man named Robert Ingersoll (1833 – 1899). He grew up in a Christian home, and his father was a preacher. When he was still a child, he often heard his father preach about how God would punish and burn sinful people in hell endlessly. He thought to himself that if God delights in endlessly tormenting sinful people, then this God is no different from Nero or Hitler. In fact, He is even worse, because they murdered people only for a certain period of time, whereas God is supposed to do this throughout all eternity?

Thus, this distorted, false picture of God’s character and an incorrect understanding of what hell symbolises in Holy Scripture caused him, while still a young man, to stop believing in the existence of God and become an atheist. Later, when he became a well-known lawyer, he travelled from city to city, publicly teaching that there is no God and that the Bible is merely an ordinary book, and one that is full of lies.

Then one day he came to a city where his best friend from their student days lived. Before he went out to teach against God and the Bible, however, he was handed a letter from his friend. He opened the envelope and began to read these words:

“Dear Robert.

Do you remember how we studied law together? Do you remember how we did our practical training together? Unfortunately, not long afterwards, the mental pressure connected with practising this profession became too great for me. I fought against it for as long as I could, until finally I could no longer endure it and began to drink. I drank more and more until I lost all my money. My wife and family left me. I also lost the ability to practise my profession.

My whole life, Robert, became one enormous mess. Soon afterwards, I even had to leave my own home, and I spent many nights sleeping under the open sky.

But one night, Robert—it was a very cold night. My whole body was trembling from the cold. As I lay drunk in the street, a man noticed me. He came over to me. He lifted me up. He put his arm around me. He took me to his home and cared for me.

That Christian, Robert, that Christian read the Bible to me every day, and through it I was able to come to know Christ, who loves me, died for me and forgave me everything!

That Christian read the Bible to me every day, and through it I was able to come to know Christ, who gave me the power to change my life!

Today, Robert, today I am a different man. My wife and family are with me again. I am once more able to work in my profession.

You cannot, Robert—you cannot teach against Christ, who saved the life of your old friend!

You cannot teach against the Bible, which changed the life of your friend!

In this city, Robert, in this city tell people that the Bible will change their lives. Tell them that Christ died for them and will forgive them everything. Tell them that God loves them and will change their destiny if they ask Him to do so and give their hearts to Him.”

Conclussion

I think that although we could say much more about this extraordinary, wonderful energy of God’s love, the important information we have reminded ourselves of today is entirely sufficient to demonstrate that God exists, that He possesses extraordinary power by means of which He can accomplish literally anything, and, above all, that through this energy He desires to change us. But first He wants to perform in us the miracle of the new birth, if we have not yet experienced this miracle in our lives.

However, for God to be able to accomplish this in us, we must make certain important decisions on our part. Our task is to come to know the Gospel found in the Word of God, to believe and accept Christ as our only Saviour, and then never turn away from Him. Amen!