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What Makes You Unique

All of us like to think we are special. That’s O.K., because we are all unique! Although we all have the same kind of molecule at the core of our reproductive system, every person is different from every other person. This is because of the wonders of what is called ‘the genetic code.’

It’s easy to think of the genetic code as like an alphabet making up words which describe your characteristics. These chemical letters can be put together in countless different ways. Although there is only one ‘genetic code-alphabet’ for all living things on earth, it can produce canaries, carrots or children.

Every living cell has the molecule DNA in it. If unravelled, the DNA blueprint in every one of your cells would stretch for almost two metres. DNA is responsible for all the instructions that determine your physical characteristics.

The total genetic code of an organism is called its genome. The human genome is made up of about three billion chemical pairs. However, we get our human characteristics from a surprisingly small proportion of these pairs. About 30% of our genome is more or less the same as spinach, and over 98% of it is the same as chimpanzees.

What makes you unique is that your arrangement of DNA letters is different from everyone else’s. So next time you look in the mirror, remember that, unless you happen to be an identical twin, there is no other person who looks exactly like you.

Most of us enjoy the idea that we are one-of-a-kind. It boosts our self-esteem to think that we have a part to play in the universe that no one else can play. Biochemically, we know that our uniqueness comes from the DNA that we carry around in our cells. It is a marvellously complex molecule. It is big enough to ensure that each human being ever born will have his or her own special physical and psychological qualities.

Yet, it is not just the differences between us that amaze us, the similarities do, too. Only about .02% of our DNA accounts for the differences. The other 99.98% is shared. We actually have a lot more in common than we might think. The idea of “the brotherhood of man” is more than just a social slogan. It is a biological fact!

God uses the DNA molecules of our parents to combine in a distinct way for each one of us. We have no problem identifying other human beings, because all six billion of us are different (not to mention all those who have gone before). The amazing thing is that God knows each one of us individually.

Several Bible passages indicate that God knows us all by name. We distinguish each other by the use of names. It helps us keep our friends straight. Though God knows us by name, His acquaintance with us runs much deeper. The Bible indicates that God knows at the genetic level. One of the things our DNA determines is our hair. It sets the colour, the actual size of the hair, the thickness of the growth, the rate of loss due to natural thinning and balding. In Luke 12, Jesus talks to His followers about how much personal interest God takes in them. The detail he mentions is that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

On this occasion Jesus is not just reassuring His followers that God knows them and that they are individually significant to Him. He also indicates that each of us has a personal choice to make. Just as God is personally acquainted with us, we need to become personally acquainted with Him. Knowing God involves more than a mere acknowledgement that He exists.

David Humphreys and Ron Hughes
© August 2006