It would be interesting to know how many people thought of Dolly Parton when seeing the title of this article, but the article is about the first mammal ever cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer from a cell taken from a mammary gland.  She was born on July 5, 1996, and her cloning led to many advancements within stem cell research. She produced several lambs until she was euthanized at the age of six due to progressive lung disease.  Her body was preserved and donated to the National Museum of Scotland, where it has been on exhibition since 2003.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us of the miraculous birth of the Son of God as He was conceived of the Holy Spirit of God in a virgin named Mary.   He was one of a kind in that regard, but all people who put their faith in His death and resurrection can also become children of God through the Spirit of God living within their hearts.  He was put to death at the age of 33 due to the hatred and false accusations of the religious authorities of the day in which He lived.  He suffered from no disease, but willingly allowed Himself to be crucified on a Roman cross in order to pay the penalty for the sins of all the people of the world.

        Not only was Jesus the Son of God born in human form, but He was also called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  In Old Testament days, lambs who were as perfect as possible were accepted by God as sacrifices for violating His commandments.  These lambs were expected to be free of blemishes and disease in order to be used as such sacrifices.  There is no question that Jesus was the perfect and the very best possible sacrifice for the sins of the people of the entire world.

        The apostle John said that Jesus was in the world, which was made by Him, but the world knew Him not.  Dolly the sheep was made by the world, but in the case of Jesus the world was made by Him.  The idea that the world did not know Jesus is a reference to the fact that many people did not accept Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah promised by God for many years.  John says that all who accept Jesus, God gives them power to become sons of God, and the power to become more and more like Jesus daily.  That power comes not from human cloning but by the operation of the Holy Spirit.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.