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After years of reading about them, I completed one of the DNA home tests and mailed it to the company. Four to six weeks later, I received a report on my family history.

DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. “DNA is like a language in the heart of the cell, a molecular message, a set of instructions telling the cell how to construct proteins-much like the software needed to run a computer,” wrote Chuck Colson in his book, “How Now Shall We Live?”

He goes on to say the DNA in a single cell of the human body contains as much information as the “Encyclopedia Britannica” – all thirty volumes – three or four times over. According to Smithsonian.com, the entire human body – blood, organs, skin, etc. – contains 37.2 trillion cells.

DNA is your genetic fingerprint. It’s a four-character digital code storing the blueprint of living things. Bill Gates has said, “DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created.”

It solves crimes. It tells whether you are male or female. A match with your DNA confirms your biological father and other family members. It matches tissue of organ donors with the people who need transplants.

DNA looks like a long, twisted molecular ladder. The discovery of DNA has been called the greatest discovery in the history of biology, leading to the Nobel Prize to Francis Crick and James Watson in 1953.

In his book, “More Than Meets the Eye” Dr. Richard Swenson writes, “If we were to take the entire DNA out of a single cell and stretch it out, it would be over five feet long.” Multiply five feet times 37.2 trillion cells. All the DNA in your body would total the length of 300 billion football fields.

The complexity of DNA’s design provides the evidence for a Creator God. As Professor/Author Phillip Johnson has asked, “How could a blind evolutionary process write the vast encyclopedia of biological data that we carry around in our cells?”

Reading about DNA reminded me of the words in Psalm 139:14, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

I was also reminded of a tale about a group of scientists who decided man had come a long way and no longer needed God. They could create life out of nothing like He did in the beginning, and, told Him so. God listened patiently until the scientists finished talking, and He replied, “Let’s have a contest.” To which the scientists agreed. Then God added, “Now, we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam.”

One scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God interrupted and said, “No, no, no. Use your own dirt!” To create requires the infinite power of a Creator God. Psalm 24: 1-2 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.”

— Jan White has compiled a collection of her columns in her book, “Everyday Faith for Daily Life.”