Who Do You Think You Are?

Nowadays it is very popular to have people trying to trace their family roots, maybe hoping to find that there was some very important person in their family's past.

The Bible too is very interested in family histories. You just need to read Genesis chapters 9, 11 and 36 for example, or the early chapters of Matthew and Luke where we read about the human relatives of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was very proud of his family roots; 'a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin...' It was very important to know who a person was and that is true for us too.

But God is interested in knowing who we are in relation to him. When we become Christians we become new creations and we are immediately born into a new family. That family is God's family. So, just as in our natural family we show certain family characteristics like physical features, we have to show characteristics of our new (God's) family. Paul gives a list of some of these in Galatians 5: 22 - 23. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are characteristics which the Holy Spirit helps to develop in us as members of God's family.

So who do you think you are? Are you in God's family?

Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray you will take me into your family and help me to develop all the family likenesses you want to see in me. Amen.