The Genetics of the Sower

Genetics is a rather fascinating discipline. Further proving intelligent design to myself, at least, geneticists study the heredity and variation in living organisms. Gregor Mendel, in the mid-nineteenth century, first started to observe that we inherit certain traits through the distinctive units now called genes. Genes match up with regions in our DNA, a chain of nucleotides occurring in what appears to be a twisted ladder. Geneticists have been able to observe the molecular sequences involved with many diseases. Due to the decreased costs of sequencing and computation, researchers completed mapping out the sequence of the human genome in 2003. And, though we have come a long way in genetic research, there is much left to discover.
There are some of my genes that I am thankful for, like the one that gave me my oft-complimented eyes. There are also a few of my genes that I could live without, such as those genes that have possibly made my jeans a little tighter. There are a number of traits that can’t be explained any other way than genetics. There are also a number of traits that stand at the middle of the debate between nature and nurture. We often find a place of comfort in our given conditions. We explain our current behavior based on our past and occasionally fail to recognize our responsibility in making positive choices.
“The Parable of the Sower” in Luke 8 shows how the word of God is received by various groups of people. It is possible for us to say that we have no roots in Christianity. We can say that people in our lives, problematic experiences, or a lack of solid teaching have made it difficult for us to properly receive the word of God. However, we can also make the choice to be “good soil”, producing a crop. There are those that explain faith as a genetic trait. However, the word of God can be received by anyone.