Let Creation Speak! An Invitation to Awe and Wonder by Michael Guillen, PhDSample

A BRAND-NEW YOU

In 1883, a German biologist exploring the Mediterranean Sea discovered a tiny jellyfish he named Turritopsis dohrnii. Roughly as big as the tip of your little finger—about 4.5 mm (3/16″) across—it has a transparent, bell-shaped body, a bright red stomach, and scores of tiny, translucent white tentacles. It loves eating plankton and fish eggs.

How long does it live? That’s the fascinating part. Scientists have discovered that T. dohrnii has the ability to live forever!

A typical, garden-variety jellyfish goes through five stages of growth. Starting from a fertilized egg, it morphs into a larva, then a polyp, then a baby jellyfish (called an ephyra), and finally into an adult jellyfish (called a medusa). A medusa usually dies right after reproducing.

But not T. dohrnii. Amazingly, it can revert to the polyp stage at will. Whenever it is at risk of dying, this unique creature instantly sinks to the bottom of the ocean and transforms into a brand-new polyp—a brand-new self. From there, it once again goes through the various stages of growth and becomes a born-again medusa.

This process of being “born again” is a mystery to science, but it goes by the name of transdifferentiation. As far as scientists can tell, T. dohrnii can stay alive this way indefinitely. For that reason, it’s called the immortal jellyfish.

REFLECTION

Are you tired of being you? Through spiritual transdifferentiation and the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit, God can remake you from the inside out and ensure that when your old self dies, your new self will live forever.

To get started, just hit the reset button, like the immortal jellyfish. Simply admit out loud your dissatisfaction with yourself and ask for God’s help. He will do the rest. Let your old, tired, dying life sink to the bottom of the abyss, then rise up and be reborn!