“When Rick met Lisa for the first time the sparks were flying.” That’s what we say when two people meet and there is a powerful romantic attraction. Well, scientists have discovered that when two lovers consummate their love, and a child is conceived, the sparks really do fly.
Have you heard of the “zinc spark?” This ‘spark of life’ was discovered in 2011, and researchers first publicized their findings in 2016. I first read about it a few days ago, and was again amazed by the wonder of God’s creation.
The microscopic filming that is now being done is astounding. Perhaps you’ve seen videos of a sperm cell fertilizing an egg cell. It is an amazing sight, but those films have been around for a while. Now, however, with more sophisticated imaging, we can see even more of what is happening at that moment when a new life is conceived.
Usually, when filming something, you want to have proper light on your subject so you can see what you are filming. But scientists at Northwestern University filmed the moment of conception with very little light (along with some additional preparation), and then made this astonishing discovery. When one of the many sperm cells approaching the egg finally penetrates the surface and the two cells are joined, there appears a sudden flash of light. The whole surface of the egg is enveloped in light for one instant and then goes dark again.
Here’s the chemistry behind the flash of light (simplified version). When the first sperm enters the egg, it triggers the instant release of billions of zinc ions stored within the structure of the egg cell. This zinc hardens the outer layer of the cell, preventing any further sperm from entering the egg. The release also helps start the egg’s transition from a single cell to a dividing embryo. Before filming, scientists inserted into the egg some special fluorescent molecules that combined with the zinc and made the ‘zinc spark’ visible.
The light is artificially manufactured. The miraculous ‘spark of life’ is real; and is an incredibly complex chemical, biological, and electrical process that scientists continue to learn more about. And the more sophisticated our observations become, the more complex our sense of wonder.
Watch this video to see the actual moment human life begins:
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The video narrator said:
What does this say about you? Next time you wonder what you are, remember: You’re more than flesh and blood.
But pure science says you are NOT more than flesh and blood (and a field of energy). Deep down, we know we are more than that. The above video can’t help but create wonder in even the most hard-core atheist. But science knows of nothing beyond molecules, chemistry, electricity, and physics. If we are more than flesh and blood, what is that MORE, and where does it come from?
Tilly Dillehay, mother of four, writes (www.desiringgod.org 9-1-26)
Witnessing the magic and the wonder of conception forces the observant person to ask questions that are hard to answer. The more we learn about the conception, growth, and workings of human beings made in God’s image, the more God reveals that his ways are beyond the claims of the scientific method. Science would like to think that our whole universe is made up only of repetitive and reducible processes. But much of it, like the God-wrought “spark” that birthed this universe (Genesis 1:3), is neither observable nor repeatable.
The workings of nature — even those workings that we take intimate part in — are still beyond our grasp. We know what happens, in a sense. As time passes and imaging improves, we know more and more about what happens. But do we really know why it happens? Why does a new enfleshed soul appear, a little child that is born with eternity stamped in his or her eyes? The “spark of life” is a sudden release of zinc ions — millions of them — into the surrounding space, a ricochet of energy caused by the sperm’s invasion. But the egg and sperm and zinc sparks are not what new life is, only what it is made of.
And it has no reason to happen except for the spoken desire of a good God.
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The Bible explains it all this way in Psalm 139:13-16a:
You formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance.
Genesis 3:1 — God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
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PSALM 22:9-11:
Dear Lord,
You brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.
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