Who we are and where we came from seems to be all the rage these days. With genealogy websites popping up on the internet and the DNA testing being advertised on TV and on the internet. But what if our focus on finding out who we are shifted. Instead of where in the world did we come from to who we are in Christ.
Genealogy always fascinated me. The year my Father and I painted my bedroom was where it started. That was the year he told me some of his childhood. He took pride in his Scottish Heritage. He and my Grandmother lived with my Great-Grandmother (her Mom) for a while. It seemed I had an Uncle who enjoyed playing the bagpipes after coming in late from a night on the town. My Great-Grandmother spoke Gaelic, a language I would love to learn. My Dad shared with me that we were the third and fourth generations from Scotland. My desire to learn more about my family increased with age.
There was a sense of pride established that Summer, but also a sense of belonging. I had a connection with a past that was different than mine but yet somehow became a part of mine. That is how it should feel when we become Christ followers. There should be a desire to connect with His past in such a way that it becomes a part of us. He gave up His life for us so that our sins are covered, forgiven.
So why don't we have that desire? Did it fizzle out over time? Pick up a Bible and it is understandable. 2500 pages of small print, with long difficult names would make that desire to understand fizzle. But what if you thought of it as you heritage? What if each book was a clue as to who your are or could be? Your history is with God's people being set free from Slavery. Your history is with God's people being schooled by Paul in his letters. Instead of viewing The Bible as a mountain of words that do not apply to us; we should see the importance of researching the God who chose us to be a part of His family.
1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation, A people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
Ephesians 1:4 "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
John 15:16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give you."
I could list 15 more verses to help you see your Heritage, but I think you get the picture. Who we are matters, what we do matters and where we go also matters--to God. Finding out we are related to someone famous is exciting. What if we were to understand we are related by adoption into the Chosen Nation to Christ. He is our Brother and God is our Father. What excitment bubbles up inside me just at that thought!
What about you? Are you excited about who you are here in a temporary world? Or are you excited about who you are in the afterlife?
When we all get to Heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the Victory
Why wait until we get to Heaven to sing and shout the Victory? Do it now! Start your research, find you Heritage in The Bible...start small, but start...
