Empowering Comfort
I am not sure how atoms and molecules lured my mind and I got fixated on how proteins fold in the human body. Probably, that happens in an hour and half drive following a science conference. Well, it was not strictly a conference, rather a day at the beach, but wearing a black tie and a dinner jacket. A weird mix. Immediately after lunch, my colleague and I drove back home ready for the weekend. Out of the blue, my mind raced and got caught up in unending traffic jam of molecular biology.
I do not want to bother you with protein chemistry, like they say, the devil is in the details, but a little background will not hurt. A protein is a super large compound formed by a sequence of small subunits called amino acids. Besides water, proteins are the most important compound in your body. They come in different shapes and sizes, defining their unique function. Some proteins help to transport food throughout your body, others help to make sure all your body organs have sufficient oxygen and some breakdown the food we eat to something the body can use. Amazingly, all these unique roles result from unique joining of the subunits.
When the subunits join to form a protein, a gigantic structure is formed that is useless until it folds. Protein folding is like turning a piece of cloth into a beautiful shirt, without cutting. It is amazing and beautiful at the same time. Unlike a cloth, which depends on the expertise of the seamstress to be neatly and skillfully joined, proteins only require the right environment. Folding depends entirely on the uniqueness of the subunits. The intrinsic properties of each subunit intelligently spearhead the joining of faraway subunits to form something amazing like an enzyme. If that does not shock you, picture this, you lay a piece of satin fabric on the table and by adjusting the AC, the fabric twist and turn, joining seams and in a fraction of a second, a beautiful wedding gown lay on the table. That is exactly what happens when proteins fold. As I thought about this, I realized God placed the reality of gospel transformation in our bodies.
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
We are like amino acids, unique in every way, but with the same amine groups and hydroxyl groups (this is not rocket science, it is chemistry) that joins us together to build one big church (One Lord, one faith and one baptism, Ephesians 4:4- 6). This unique lock and key connection believers possess, transcend distance and time. It is not limited by geography or the calendar. A believer in Andorra is