Does it seem strange to you to talk about the miraculous survival of life? We tend to see life on Earth - plant, animal and human - as something natural. But most people would be surprised if they realized all that the continuation of earthly life entails. And that includes yours. Consider some of the reasons why the survival of life on this planet can rightly be called a miracle. As a result, you will enjoy life much more.
Arrangements in space
Life on Earth depends on the light and heat of the sun. It is believed that the sun transforms matter into energy at a rate of four million tons per second and that it can continue to do so for billions (billions) of years. But only two billionths of the enormous energy produced by the sun ultimately reaches Earth. However, this is enough for life to go on. Is it by chance that there is an oven that produces energy like the sun?
In the continuous flow of energy emanating from the sun, there is also radiation that can destroy life. But the atmosphere around the Earth provides a protective shield. For example, about 15 miles above the earth, a thin layer of ozone in the atmosphere filters out most of the harmful rays. If this ozone layer reached space, harmful radiation would no doubt soon destroy plant, animal and human life. This led Dr F. E. Miller (Smithsonian Institution) to comment that we are living "miraculously" on this planet due to the thin layer of ozone in our atmosphere.
Life on Earth must not only be protected from deadly radiation to survive, but also from meteorite bombardments. And life is protected. Most meteors never reach the ground because they burn as they descend through the atmosphere. In a warm layer of the atmosphere, meteors explode or disintegrate into fine dust. Imagine what would happen if most of the meteors weren't incinerated there! Millions of meteorites of different sizes would fall on all parts of the Earth, causing severe damage to life and property.
The atmosphere not only serves as a shield, but also provides the gases absolutely essential for life. Arthur Beiser, a geophysicist, described air as “a constant mixture; 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, with traces of half a dozen other gases, plus a varying charge of vapor d 'water. “Now only some of these gases are highly lethal. However, because they are combined in the right proportions, we can inhale them without harming ourselves. Likewise, if the amount of oxygen in the air was a lot. higher, combustible materials would become highly flammable, making fire fighting extremely difficult.
Could a simple accident have produced a combination of gases suitable for life on Earth? On the contrary, doesn't that, like the way life is protected from deadly radiation and falling meteors, point to an intelligent being responsible for the arrangements that made life possible?
This wonderful supply: water
Without water, plant, animal and human life would not be possible. Fortunately, the water available is plentiful. And it really is an unusual liquid. Each water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Hydrogen is the most flammable gas known and oxygen is required for combustion. However, when two hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen atom, one of the best extinguishers is surprisingly produced: water.
The effect of cold on water also shows that it is a unique liquid. As the water in lakes and seas cools, it becomes heavier, forcing lighter, warmer water to rise to the top. However, when the water as a whole reaches 39 ° Fahrenheit, a wonderful thing happens: the process is reversed! The water becomes lighter as it approaches the freezing point of 32 ° F and then stays as a layer above the warmer water below. This upper layer turns into ice and, being lighter than water, it floats; thus, marine life is protected. Without this phenomenon, all lakes and even oceans would eventually turn to solid ice, making this land a "deep freeze" in which no plants, animals or human life could exist.
It is also surprising how regions far from rivers, lakes and seas receive vital water for their survival. The heat of the sun constantly transforms thousands of millions of liters of water into vapor. This vapor, lighter than air, floats upwards and forms clouds in the sky. Wind and air currents, created by energy from the sun, move these clouds. As the air in clouds cools, the vapor condenses into tiny water droplets that attach to the dust particles. This atmospheric dust comes from a variety of sources, including disintegrated meteors. The droplets then join together, forming larger raindrops.
Raindrops only grow to a certain size and then start to fall. What if it doesn't and the raindrops become colossal? It would be disastrous. Observes Arthur L. Brown, in his book Footprints of God: "Without the provision of showers, the vegetation would be destroyed, the crops sunk in the ground, the trees stripped of leaves and fruit, the fields dug in deep trenches. And the land swept away. Any passing cloud would be an object of terror. But how beneficial the existing arrangement is! Instead of ruinous cascades of water, it flows in gentle fertilizing drops, as if the cloud were pierced like a sieve with tiny drops fall and rarely is a blade of grass hurt or the most delicate flower bruised. "—Pp. 110, 111.
Don't these factors related to the planet's vital water supply suggest that there is an expert designer behind it all?
The interdependence of life
Indeed, when one considers the earth which surrounds it, one cannot help but be astonished that one form of life depends on another form of life.
For example, green vegetation produces carbohydrates, an essential food for humans and animals. How plants do this puzzles scientists. According to plant physiologist Laurence C. Walker: “The botanist's biggest unknown is how to synthetically produce carbohydrates when given the ingredients that any green plant uses for this purpose. Chlorophyll can be prepared in the laboratory. The gases in the air can be mixed in any proportion and the energy of light can be supplied as a catalyst (accelerator). Yet the carbs just don't come out. If the secret were to come to light, man could probably feed the world, using a factory the size of a regular school building.
Plants not only produce carbohydrates, but in the process they use carbon dioxide and release oxygen so vital for human and animal life. Therefore, their production process purifies the air continuously. What a difference from the human factories responsible for air pollution.
There is evidence for the interdependence of living things in the contribution of bacteria, insects, birds and other animals to maintaining soil productivity. The droppings or wastes of various creatures enrich the soil with valuable nutrients, such as soluble nitrogen. Some soil bacteria convert nitrogen gas into compounds that plants need for growth. The topsoil thickness increases as worms and burrowing insects continually bring particles from the subsoil to the surface.
Isn't there something miraculous about all of these interdependencies?
Miracles at the time of human birth
Also think about how we humans come into the world. Consider, for example, two changes that occur in relation to the circulatory system at birth.
A normal adult heart is like a double pump that manipulates two separate circulatory systems. The left side contains oxygenated blood, while the right side contains deoxygenated blood. The complete separation of the two chambers of the heart prevents the deoxygenated blood from mixing with the oxygenated blood of the lungs.
However, a fetus does not need two separate systems to circulate blood. Why not? Because, although the baby's blood and the mother's blood separate from the placenta, through this organ, the mother's blood carries as much waste as oxygen and food. Since the fetal lungs do not work, the blood cannot be separated, but must flow together. How it's done The fetal circulatory system has two "alternative pathways." There is a hole in the dividing wall (septum) of the heart. This hole allows blood to mix in the two chambers. There is also a conduit or connective tube between the two main arteries that branch off from the heart. However, at birth, the continuation of the hole and the connective duct would mean death.
The way the mood changes and the critical moment involved in the change are miracles that confuse scientists. The tissue fragments around the hole in the heart are instantly closed at birth. Over time, the new tissue grows through the hole and seals it for life. The connective duct has a strong layer of smooth muscle that contracts at birth, closing the duct and forcing blood into the lungs. Eventually the contracted muscle degenerates and disappears. In the vast majority of births that occur every minute, these wonderful adjustments occur without incident. And we continue living because they happened at birth. Of course, in the rare event that these adjustments do not occur, surgery can usually correct the defect.
This was an overwhelming read😀