My Christian roots run deep.
I have been perusing my family roots since the early 1990’s. I started this journey before my commitment to
Jesus. Before this life changing event,
my view of family was through bloodlines and locations. After giving my life to Jesus, I now view family
through legacies. The Bible teaches that
our Christian grandparents leave us an inheritance.
Proverbs
13:22 Living Bible (TLB)
When a
good man dies, he leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren; but when a sinner
dies, his wealth is stored up for the godly.
What is this inheritance that they leave us? Most people think of it as wealth, personal
items, physical features or a certain way of thinking. All of these could be included in our
inheritance, but the one thing I found more valuable is what my parents and
grandparent left me, which was the foundation of Christianity.
Note that I didn’t say they left me with Christianity, but
the foundation. This means I was raised in a Christian home and learned its
values, but I was not born into Christianity.
This step would later become my choice, not the families. Although my
family prayed for me to accept Jesus the Christ as my Lord and Savior, it was
up to me to make that decision on my own.
In fact that decision took 36 years before I accepted my inheritance.
Now I view genealogy through the eyes of a Christian and
see the family legacies left by others.
I see the good and the bad. I see
generational curses and blessings. When
I now research a family they are no longer just an artifact found in a
historical document. They are people
with a story to tell the next generation.
Stories of survival, ambition, love and most important, stories of
faith.
This is what I found with my ancestors. I see I come from a long line of those who
gave their lives to Christ. Were they
rich with earthly wealth? No, I didn’t
find a pot of gold under their rainbow.
What they did have vanished over the years, but what they left me with
will never vanish. Christian roots are
in my tree and I am who I am today because they showed me the Way.
It is funny how families fight over earthly things.
Families have split up, sued each other and even killed for what they deemed to
be their inheritance. Stuff that
vanishes with time. The one thing they should
fight for is their children’s true inheritance in Jesus the Christ. It is free and last for eternity.
I thank God for my family inheritance! Jesus Christ!
