FAMILY RESEMBLANCE. 2 Timothy 1:3-5.

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We are family–each person begins life as part of a family. We inherit traits from our parents. But shouldn’t we focus on today and forget the past? Does ancestry matter?

YES. The Bible contains over 25 genealogies, and while readers often skim them, God put them there for a reason.

Genealogies prove:

1) God LOVES families,

2) He was in control of your destiny—generations before your birth, and

3) God can use ANYONE. Jesus’ ancestry included Rahab the harlot, David (who committed adultery and murder), Ruth the Moabite, and more.

Knowing your ancestry does not mean pretending everyone was perfect. It means seeing God’s grace work through fallen people.

And just as you inherit physical traits such as height, weight, and eye color, you also inherit spiritual traits. If your forebears were givers, you may have the gift of giving. If they were preachers, God may make you a preacher. Paul explains this to Timothy, speaking not only of Paul’s ancestors, but of Timothy’s:

“I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience AS MY ANCESTORS DID, when I remember you in my prayers night and day…. clearly recalling your SINCERE FAITH THAT FIRST LIVED IN YOUR GRANDMOTHER LOIS, THEN IN YOUR MOTHER EUNICE, AND THAT I AM CONVINCED IS IN YOU ALSO” 2 Timothy 1:3-5.

Paul knows Timothy’s family well, and recognizes in Timothy the faith he saw in Timothy’s mother and grandmother. Clearly spiritual traits can be passed from parent to child.

And that should give us wisdom. If you are looking for God’s plan for your life, look at God’s plan for your ancestors’ lives. Yours will be different, of course. But it may employ similar skills.

I once wrote down the occupations of every member of my family living or dead, going back generations. Of those whose occupations I knew, a full 50%—HALF OF THEM—were teachers. That was staggering to me. And guess what? My primary spiritual gift is the gift of teaching. You too may find guidance in your ancestry.

(And for the person who does not know their ancestry, consider the high priest Melchizedek. The book of Hebrews reports on this man “having no [known] father or mother” (Hebrews 7:3) and compares him to no less a hero than Jesus Himself.)

God, in His Grace, can miraculously use even those with NO known ancestry.

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