A few years ago I started exploring my heritage.
Ancestry.com™ makes it simple. Taking an evening, now and then for the
past 3 years, I was able to build my family tree, discovering names and little
bits of information. On both my paternal and maternal sides there are ancestors
who came to this continent in the earliest days, settlers in New England and in
New Amsterdam (New York to us). A couple of months ago I took the step of
having a DNA sample analyzed for heritage by region and matches on the
website. Because my paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Denmark, I
assumed the predominant strain in me would be Scandinavian. DNA reveals
that my heritage is mostly English, with some Irish and a little Northern
European thrown in. Fascinating stuff, at least to me. I am also a royal, not
by natural birth, but because I am Spirit born!
When a nobleman from Judea came to Jesus inquire about
knowing God, Jesus spoke of two births. “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see
God’s kingdom!” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second
time?” Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into
God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans
give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child
of God. Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above."
(John 3:3-7, CEV) "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die."
(John 3:16, CEV) “Nick” He said, “you exist as a human being
because you were born in the natural process, conceived, then delivered from
your mother through ‘water.’ You can become just as real of a being in
spirit only if the Father conceives life in you and you are born anew of the
Spirit!” That Jewish theologian was fascinated and took Jesus’ words to
heart. He believed, received, and became Spirit born. We see evidence of his
new life later in the Gospel.
There are many good people, religious people, moral and
admirable people – who have yet to become children of God! There is a
vast difference between learning a philosophy, a creed, and a pattern for life
and gaining a whole new identity that is God’s gift. "The true light
that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world,
and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He
came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all
who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God." (John 1:9-12, NIV)
Are you a child of God, by new birth? The question is
not answered by baptism or church membership. Both are part of the Christian
life and not to be scorned, but the issue is whether you have received,
by faith, the Spirit of God Who makes your spirit alive to God, a life that is
as real as the one you got from your Dad and Mom. This is not just church talk.
There are eternal implications. Paul teaches us that this Spirit birth
makes us part of God’s family with all the rights that go with being God’s
child – a loving relationship with your Father (Abba) and an heir to the riches
of Heaven! He writes "you received the Spirit of sonship. And by
him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that
we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God
and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we
may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:15-17, NIV)
I hear it often these days – “Jerry, you sure remind me of
your Dad!” Looking in the mirror I see him looking back at me. I
look at my hands and see his. Why? Because I inherited his genes. My prayer is
that the character and likeness of my Heavenly Father will be imprinted on me,
too. Oh that others would see Him when they look at me – His love,
compassion, and holiness; and they will – because I am born of the Spirit.
You can be, too. Believe His promise. Receive
the gift by faith. Grow in grace. "And everyone who looks up to
him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. “This is how
much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is
why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a
whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son
merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came
to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;
anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence
without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the
one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. " (John 3:15-18, The
Message)
________
A Child Of The King
My Father is rich in houses and lands.
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands.
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold!
My Father's own Son, the Savior of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them.
But now He is reigning forever on high,
And will give me a home in heav'n by and by.
I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice and an alien by birth.
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown.
I'm a child of the King,
A child of the King!
With Jesus, my Savior,
I'm a child of the King!
Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell | John Bunnell Sumner
© Words: Public Domain
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