One Ancestor

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. " 1 John 3:1 NIV

That is an enormous truth. Coupled with Paul's instructions to never look at anyone, including ourselves, from a natural point of view again, but to see ourselves according to the spirit, it means our ancestry has been exchanged. The simple truth of the matter is that we only have one ancestor--God. Anything negative you got from your parents doesn't count anymore.

Forget that you have your aunt Sarah's temper, or your grandmother's impatient nature, or your grandfather's and father's propensity to addiction, or your mother's susceptibility to depression. The truth is, their genetics no longer apply to you. The only genetic code controlling you now is the spiritual one you received from God.

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Do you like being compared to your parents? For a long time, I hated being compared to my Dad...now I consider it a compliment. He was a great man who gave me some tremendous gifts. Some of the things I cherish most in my character and my ways of looking at life came from him.

To be honest, though, I suppose some of my greatest weaknesses came from him, too. That's just a part of the deal, I guess. I'll pass on the best and worst of myself to my kids as well, and so will you. That's because we're in an imperfect world, living imperfect lives; and parents make people, fortunately and unfortunately, very much like themselves.

However, in the truest sense, those of us who believe in Jesus have escaped that cycle of imperfection. Think about it: we are children of God. John said that we've been re-fathered from above, and that the genetic code of God has been implanted in us. Peter said that we now share in "the divine nature." We are literally the genetic offspring of God in our spiritual selves, the truest part of who we are.

That is an enormous truth. Coupled with Paul's instructions to never look at anyone, including ourselves, from a natural point of view again, but to see ourselves according to the spirit, it means our ancestry has been exchanged. The simple truth of the matter is that we only have one ancestor--God. Anything negative you got from your parents doesn't count anymore.

Forget that you have your aunt Sarah's temper, or your grandmother's impatient nature, or your grandfather's and father's propensity to addiction, or your mother's susceptibility to depression. The truth is, their genetics no longer apply to you. The only genetic code controlling you now is the spiritual one you received from God.

God the Father is your only ancestor, and remember this: God can make things that have the ability to fail, malfunction, break down, or that are prone to sin. He can make things not completely like Himself. But He didn't just make you, He Fathered you. You have His genetic code. You have inherited His character and way of looking at life, His goodness and power and love--it's just part of the deal. Parents make people just like themselves.

References: John 1, John 3, 1 John 3, 1 Peter 2, 2 Corinthians 5, Romans 8