For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made… —Psalm 139:13-14
From a scientific point of view, the moment of conception is awe-inspiring. Dr. William Lile, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, describes this process as miraculous. He passionately believes that each person is created in the image of God at the moment of conception.
For someone who has delivered 4,000 babies, the question of “When does life begin?” is not just a philosophical question—it’s a scientific question.
Dr. Lile explains that when the DNA from the sperm and the DNA from the egg come together as one cell, that one cell is genetically unique from mom and dad and the other seven billion people on the planet. At that one cell stage, the blueprints of life are already laid out.
That living cell will divide into two, four, eight, 16, 32, 64 cells… As adults, we are comprised of about 60 trillion cells. Dr. Lile said, “What’s unique is that our DNA, our genetics, never change. If you do a DNA test on somebody who is 90-years old, it will exactly match when they were just one cell in their mother’s womb.”
The miraculous, and even mysterious, nature of conception continues when the process of cell differentiation begins. Up until that point, all the cells have been exact copies. During differentiation, each cell somehow reads the DNA blueprint and finds its unique function. One cell starts the cardiovascular system. Another cell starts the digestive system, and so on.
Dr. Lile admits that science has no idea how this happens. It can only be explained by understanding that there is a designer. And that designer is God. We are indeed created in the image of God—not on our birthdays, but at the moment of conception.
Lord, thank You for the miracle of life. Thank You that I am “fearfully” and “wonderfully” made. You created me with unique attributes and giftings. There is absolutely no one with the same DNA. May I love and serve You, according to Your purpose for me. Amen.
Find encouragement like this post, along with many more days like it, when you download Care Net’s 365 Days of Pro Abundant Life devotional. This devotional is a daily invitation to grow in your faith, understand the sanctity of life from conception, and be inspired by Christ’s promises.