John 3:31-33
"The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own. He sets out the evidence of what he saw and heard in heaven. No one wants to deal with these facts. But anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
There is a show on NBC called “Who Do You Think You Are?” that follows celebrities as they examine their family tree and learn about their ancestors. In one episode, actress and singer Vanessa Williams traced her roots and discovered that her great-great grandfather had fought in the Civil War as a free man. For a black man to travel into the South as a member of the Union Army took great courage. This was incredibly dangerous… the orders were to shoot these men on sight!
Another ancestor of Williams’ was a school teacher in Tennessee… and one of the first black legislators in that state, just after the end of the Civil War. Williams recognized that a common thread in her family’s legacy was education… both of her parents were also teachers.
Williams was able to “connect the dots” and learn a lot by tracing the lineage of her family. She discovered values and characteristics that were handed down through the generations…ethics that defined the generations who came before her – ethics that were deeply ingrained in her own personality. While visiting the room where her great-great grandfather made laws with fellow Tennessee legislators, she noted that she had made history as the first black Miss America… but her ancestors had already paved the way with history-making actions of their own. Williams was incredibly humbled by the accomplishments of her predecessors.
While our earthly ancestors may have helped to shape who we are today, we have another lineage with a far bigger impact. Jesus, the Son of our Heavenly Father, revealed the glory of Heaven. His time on earth gave us evidence of what lies ahead for those who take a leap of faith and believe in Him. We find it fairly easy to believe the data we uncover as we trace the lineage of our earthly ancestors… but we are often less eager to embrace what Jesus has to say. We sometimes seem more eager to listen to the teachings, promises and prophecy of human beings than those of God’s only Son.
As much as we long to know who we are in terms of our human lineage, it is more important for us to know who we are in Christ. As we read in this passage, Jesus is in a league of His own… His legacy is the one that really matters. Jesus represents our hope and a future for all eternity. There is nothing wrong with looking back at our past… learning about where we came from… but we must also look forward. We must study Jesus’ teachings and communicate with Him… learn all we can about what lies ahead… and strive to “make history” in the context of the Kingdom of God.
Truly, who we are only matters in terms of our heavenly lineage. What is your legacy? Are you working on building your family “Tree of Life in Christ?” Isn’t it time you began?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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